Beyond Coincidence
by CassieKnight
Summary: Sasara returns two years after the events that left her alone and to fend for herself in life. However, she soon learns that the chapter labeled Cell has yet to be finished and she's thrown into events that are unlike anything she could ever imagine. R
1. Greeting the Past

**Author's Return Note: **I know I said at the end of the last story that these might not continue, but there was a chance of a 5th story because I got a brilliant idea. Well, after thinking about it for some time, I decided to give a shot. I do know that those of you that reviewed my last story had said the story should not go on…but this is more of a fun note than anything. It will be different than the content of the previous four, so don't think you'll get completely bored because it'll be the same ol' thing.

However, please note that I have no idea how quickly I can get chapters out. In fact, it might be another week or more before I can work on the second chapter because I'm bogged down with school work and I really can't neglect it.

And for those of you who stumbled upon this story without previous knowledge of where it came from, I highly suggest you read _Shadowed Spirit_ and at least _Behold Thy Scarred Heart_ since those are the two main stories that bring about the characters and background content of this story. The middle two stories are _The Past Returns_ and _The Kismet of Optimism_ if you have time and are interested. Though **please** don't let that pull you away from this. The first chapter, as in all of my stories, _should_ be enough to give you enough information to continue forward without having read the others. So by all means, please go ahead!

And as always, reviews, reviews, reviews….**_please!_** You all know how much I love them. That and I want feedback….lots of it. It's nice to be pulling your hair out over a history paper and finding a review email waiting for you…it brings a smile to my face :) hehe. Anyway, onward…and as always, enjoy!

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_**Beyond Coincidence**_

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**Chapter 1: **_Greeting the Past_

You would have thought the story was over and that there was nothing more to tell. You may have considered something else minor happening in my life, but nothing compared to the last thing I wrote about. Yet here I am again, sitting at my desk and collecting my thoughts on an event that was unlike any of the others you may have heard about…that is if you've followed the timeline of my family's history at all. Well, not so much a family history, but a history of one person that my mother and I knew very well; an android, actually. If you have an idea of what I'm talking about, then you know to call this person Cell.

Saying "my mother and I" also probably gave you an idea on who is writing this little story here. My name is Sasara Sutiiven, but that's being straight forward. I used to be a normal person with a regular name who went about her daily business without a care in the world. I'm a college graduate; I landed a job two years ago as a newspaper journalist—something I didn't think I'd really get into since I wanted to try broadcasting. But there's a story in between those two moments in my life that is kept a secret.

My mother, Layrial Adercon Sutiiven was right to not tell anyone anything about what she had once went through. In fact, my father knew very little of the entire epic she experienced. At first I thought she was being secretive and unfair by not telling me or my father that she once had an encounter with not a man, but an android that was out to literally destroy the entire world. His name was etched in the history books as one of the largest terrors to ever strike the planet. Cell was a creature that was created by a scientist named Dr. Gero; he was created for destruction and only destruction on his creator's behalf. He had held my mother hostage after she, being a reporter, went out to nab an interview from him. She nearly died, but…something she couldn't prevent happened. She fell for him…fell for him in a way that no one would _ever_ expect possible between an everyday human being and a mass murderer who didn't even resemble the common man. What would baffle the community more if they ever knew was that he fell for her too.

When I discovered this by reading her journals—three of them that she kept hidden in the bookcase cabinet—I couldn't believe it. At first I thought it was all a story she made up and hid because it'd be embarrassing. Then I read the second…and the third. When I was mentioned as a baby I learned that these tales she told were true.

And then I had my own to write. It was a freak-act of fate that pulled me from my happy, normal, innocent life as a college graduate to a part of the world that I never thought possible, even if I had read what my mother described as unnatural people that were gifted in the good and bad ways. Cell, though having been dead for two decades, had escaped his confinement in Hell along with many others intent on creating havoc and fulfill their desire for universal domination…in the literal sense of the universe. I had a hard enough time learning that there was such a thing as resurrection let alone such powers that I couldn't even begin to comprehend.

I had thought my mother had died when my own story started. Cell had found me, mistaking me for her in the first moments of his arrival. He had promised my mother's memory that he'd protect me because he believed he killed her. I believed it too and hated him from the start. But throughout the one day I spent with him I realized that he wasn't like the history books depicted. He was a murderer, yes, but he wasn't what they thought. He killed when he had to or when it would better his odds, although when it came to the average human, neither of those was the case. He did when others challenged him. His pride was far too large to not just take them down and suffer, but he killed them to show the rest of the world that he was the most powerful. What mattered most, though, was that he wouldn't let any harm come to me. And when he learned that my mother still lived…he nearly died trying to save us, defeat _his_ enemies and prove that he would not be controlled by others—namely his creator who tried to use him as a weapon.

It turned out alright. We all lived…Cell, this world class villain, destroyed the bad guys. It's something I'll never forget between the pain and the respect I gained for him. He had experimented with me in the factor of lust and desire—though don't get me wrong when I say that; we didn't do anything that would raise eyebrows and questions of my sanity, but he was part human after all since he was created with the cells of the greatest warriors in the universe, each of varying races—including human. However, it was my mother I thought he wanted. Not in the dirty sense that I'm sure you immediately thought of; but in the sense that she was the first person that ever put up a fight in his mind. He couldn't figure her out and thus never killed her. She was afraid of him at first, yes, but she wasn't someone who screamed at the mere sight of him. He wasn't ugly, after all…just different. Until my mother, he never understood the notion of companionship, desire, and interest or most importantly love. In fact, Cell, as intellectual as he was created to be, had no idea what love really meant.

He learned it. It took him a while—maybe longer than he'd even admit, but he finally got a grasp on it.

At the end of my last story I was walking away. At the end, my mother had left home, the planet, and went off with him. I haven't heard from her since. The last image I have of her was a small wave she gave as she flew away in his arm. Yeah, that's right—flew. I told you already that he wasn't normal. He had unnatural powers.

"Unnatural" being only a mild word, to say the least. There's more out there than even I didn't know about. I didn't think the story could change much more than what it had been. But two years after my mother "disappeared" from this planet I was proven wrong that I had seen it all.

But before I really get into the story, let me lay out some recent information so I don't confuse you if I randomly spit it out. Like I had said, I landed a job as a journalist for a newspaper called the Sun Press. It's a pretty big paper that hits this region. I cover big events—if there's a tragedy, I'm there. It's actually a little weird since I was part of the most recent one that topped the scale. In fact, one of the cities that saw massive destruction during that Hell outbreak happened as I stood there in the middle of the street. I know exactly who did it (Cell of course), how he did it and why he did it. Although I guess I'm unethical in the journalist world because I've never allowed anyone to know I was there. They think I was home. I have no scars to give away my secret since this man—a purple man with pointy elf-like ears named Kibito-Kai (who claimed to be, in every sense of the word, the protector and overseer of the universe) healed me to the point I couldn't even find a muscle cramp in my body. Not to get sidetracked, but he played a big role in my previous adventure.

To continue, though, I'll also let you know that soon after getting my job I met another journalist—a rookie the year before me—named Kei Kyoto. It's mere coincidence that his first name is similar to the second half of that god's name. It was a few weeks before I said yes to his request for me to go to dinner with him one Saturday night. Two years later we've not only been going out, but we moved in together and have been going pretty strong in a great relationship.

In ways it scared me since I know my mother met my father in similar circumstances. After she quit her job as a reporter because she was constantly being hounded to give a full story on her captivity with Cell during his infamous Cell Games, she went into a teaching career where she met my father, also a teacher in the same school. At first she didn't like him more than a colleague, but after a second round-about adventure concerning Cell, she gave him a chance and boom, got married and had me. They divorced when I was in high school and I haven't spoken to him since.

Actually, no, I can't say that truthfully. I should say that I haven't willingly spoken to him. When he learned my mom went missing he called me up to find out what happened. I told him I knew nothing, except we were shopping when the terror happened and we lost each other; and that was the last I saw of her. He didn't need to know about Cell's return and his success. I didn't want him to start asking me questions.

He tried calling me last year sometime, but I didn't talk more than telling him I was leaving for work. I know it makes me look like a bad person, but I have my reasons. He left my mother, in full truth, because he thought she was still in love with Cell. My mother wasn't the easiest person to live with either and as their marriage went on the more arguments they developed, but he was jealous over something that was pointless because at the time Cell had been dead for over ten years.

So I've been alone, with the exception of Kei, for a while now. I really am happy with my life, though I've spent many nights sitting outside with a cup of coffee wondering where they were. Was she still alive? Did he keep his promise to me to take care of her? Or did something happen to him and my mother was stuck on an unknown distant planet with no hopes of returning home?

The questions continued. The answers came.


	2. Ill News

**Greetings: **I'm actually surprised I got this up as quickly as I did…even though its been over a week again….or more? Anyway, we're still getting into it, but I'm sure you'll like it just the same.

A huge thank-you to all of those of you that reviewed—I'm glad that you're interested in the 5th installment as much as I am :) Remember that posts will still be less frequent as they may have been in the summer; I'm sitting in my classroom right now as I type…don't worry though, it hasn't started. I'm the only one here ;) hehe. Anyway, hope you all are well…don't forget to review!

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**Chapter 2:**_Ill News_

I'll start the story where it should be started—the exact moment everything changed. I had been on the train home, my body feeling tired and I wanted nothing more than to soak in a hot tub full of bubbles with the radio playing somewhere in the background. I had another fifteen minutes until I'd be home, so the torture of wanting to take that bath was filling me to the point where I couldn't sit still.

The train was quiet, save for the few people talking at a soft, respectable level. I was glad because I had a small headache that was threatening to blow into a full force migraine. The week had been hectic around the office and I had been running around all over the place trying to gather the latest information on the collapse of some old hotel that randomly fell in the middle of the night; well, one section of it that is. I don't know what the big deal was about since it had been abandoned for years, but I suppose a wing of a building toppling over without warning was a bit unusual.

Until, that is, I discovered a bunch of young college kids were testing out a science project they hoped would give them extra credit. Funny thing is, when I was in school, I don't remember my teachers telling me to experiment with home made explosives to boost my average. I also don't remember any classes titled "Blow It Up 101." I'm sure the kids loved me after I wrote the front page article because now they're on their way to jail. Oops.

My peace and quiet, however, was rudely disturbed when a mobile phone rang loudly and everyone seemed to be pulled out of their daze. The man three seats in front of me pulled it out of his pocket and answered as if he was the only person in the car.

"Hey, honey, what's up? Oh really? No, I'm on the train already so I can't turn on the TV. When did they say it hit? An hour ago? No way…there was no sign of it coming?"

At that point I wanted to get up and take the stupid thing out of his hand and break it. How inconsiderate people were with those devices! Sure, I had one, but I _never_ talked at the top of my lungs to make myself look and feel more important than I really was.

My attention though was caught and I immediately smelled a story…though since my shift was over I figured I wouldn't be the first out there.

"Did it hit anything? Oh it was in the desert…good. At least no one got hurt. What's that? Oh my gosh, I hope it's nothing serious…"

I was pretty impressed when another woman sitting across the isle from Mr. Inconsiderate leaned over and asked him, "Do you mind? You're a bit loud."

"I have to go honey; yeah, love you too." He turned the phone off and returned it to his pocket, but gave the woman a smile. "Wife called, you know."

"Yes, I think we all know," the woman replied stiffly.

"Well she wanted me to turn on the TV in the office 'cause I guess some meteor was seen flying out of the sky. The funny thing is though, when a team of scientists went out to the scene they didn't find anything but a large crater."

If I hadn't been listening too intently I might've dismissed his last sentence. However, hearing that they found nothing in the crater told me something wasn't right. Of course the first thing I thought of was Cell. Whenever anything happened I thought it was him…or one of the others that could be out there still. I was overly relieved to find out it wasn't…or was I?

"So what?" The man sitting behind Mr. Inconsiderate said. "Maybe it cracked apart and burned up upon impact."

"A meteor?" Another man next to him said. "There'd be some evidence. Didn't anyone catch it on tape?"

"I don't know about that," said the phone man. "But I guess some older woman was found not too far from there nearly unconscious. I guess everyone's by her hospital room door to get answers."

It hit me. Something inside of me right then and there told me this wasn't right at all. No evidence of a rock? No passing meteor showers in space? A woman found near the scene?

Those fifteen minutes to my home was agonizing; I wanted nothing more than to get some answers and do investigating. I had excused myself to the back of the car where there were fewer people and called up my editor to find out if he had heard anything. He told me only the stuff I already knew and that he sent Miya out to get answers for us.

The moment I got to the train station I booked it out so I could get in my car and head to the hospital. Using the train to get to my job was a lot easier than driving through heavy rush hour traffic in the morning. The bad thing was, the hospital was downtown and I had to go through afternoon rush hour traffic to get there. Thankfully Kei had shown me some side roads since he had lived around here before meeting me.

I was able to make it there in twenty minutes. Of course I parked on one of the upper levels in the parking garage which meant I had to wait for the elevator to go down, but once I was inside I headed right for the main desk, pulling out my reporter ID card at the same time.

"Excuse me," I said to one of the receptionists sitting behind the tall desk. "I'm Sasara Sutiiven and I'm here to find out some information on the woman who was found near the sight of a meteor crater?"

The woman, not much older than me actually, looked up and raised an eyebrow. She looked at my ID and took a deep breath. "We have three people from your paper here already, plus the other million reporters from all over standing in the hallway waiting for answers. I think the Sun can afford to keep you off this story."

"You don't understand, I need to find out what's going on," I demanded.

I could tell this unkind girl was about to tell me that I could go take a hike, but the older lady sitting next to her stood up and leaned over. "I'm sorry, but what did you say your name was?"

"Sasara Sutiiven," I repeated.

"Janet," the woman replied quickly. "She's the daughter of the patient—she has direct and immediate access!"

My heart stopped the millisecond I heard those words fall from her mouth. It confirmed my worst fear, yet deepest desire that this mystery person that had been found in the desert was my mother. I exhaled a deep breath but felt it quiver under the sudden pressure from my newfound knowledge.

The girl looked at me obviously not happy I was getting my way, but pulled up the phone. I listened to a certain extent, but I was more concerned with what was going on with my mother, not to mention Cell. I heard the girl asking some guy named Ray to come down and escort me to the third floor.

Within seconds the door behind the desk opened and a man dressed in a security uniform came up to me and confirmed my name, followed by telling me to follow him. I did so, but I was quiet. When we arrived on the third floor, however, I realized immediately why they had given me an escort. The entire hall was flooded with people with notebooks, cameras, recorders, lights and everything else under the sun in hopes to be the first to interview my mother or a doctor.

I knew several of the newspaper people and they jumped to me when they realized I was getting access. I leaned up to the security guard and said, "I'm sorry, I know this will be a big pain, but I'm requesting that _all_ of these people leave. My mother has been in the news enough in her life and doesn't need any more publicity." Thankfully he nodded and told me it'd take a few minutes, but he'd get back-up and demand their departure.

I squeezed through the large wooden door quickly and took a deep breath when I heard sudden complaints of the reporters from the other side. I also heard the guard telling them it was upon my request that they leave and even more protests came, including, "That's not fair—she's a reporter herself and she'll be the only one getting a story out of this!"

As if they think I'd write a story on my own mother…never.

I dropped my messenger bag on a nearby chair and walked over to the bed where my mother lay peacefully, an oxygen tube running to her nose, an IV hooked up to her arm and a thin white blanket draped over her legs. Her dark blue hair had grown to her shoulders since the last I saw her, where it had been short and neat. Now it was a bit straggly and splashed with a lot more gray that I knew she had once had.

"Mom?" I asked, a tear nearly jumping out of my eye. She looked thin—thinner than she ever had in any picture I had seen of her. Her skin was pale and darker circles hung around her eyes.

At first I thought she was asleep after there was no response. Then a smile came to her faded pink lips and I nearly broke down from the happiness of seeing her again and the sadness of her condition. I could tell that something was terribly wrong…and I would somehow make Cell pay for what he'd done to her.

"Hey there, sweetheart," she said softly. She pulled herself to sit up more, but it didn't take a doctor to say that she was weak. "I missed you. You've grown so much since I left."

"Mommy," I started and pulled up the other chair in the room. "What's going on? What happened?"

She laughed lightly. "I'm sure you're thinking that he did this," she said and I quickly nodded. Mom shook her head slowly and looked at me, her eyes not nearly as bright as they should be. "I'll get it out there now before I decide not to tell you…" I suddenly feared whatever it was she was about to tell me. "I shouldn't have left, Sasara. It wasn't a good decision."

"What happened?" I stressed and she took a deep breath.

"We went to a planet much further from Earth…I don't know what it was called. I begged Cell not to get into any sort of conflict with the natives, but he didn't listen. He had gone around, rustled things up for no other reason than feed his curiosity of what that planet had to offer and a war began."

"He didn't…destroy the planet, did he?" I asked, wondering how horrible of a story this was going to turn out to be.

"No," she said, "he didn't do anything to any planet we had gone too. But…I was getting tired of him wanting to go on and on with this exploration of his, not to mention he was getting frustrated with the complaints from me. It wasn't something either of us could handle for our own reasons. I thought when I was your age I should have gone…that it wouldn't have been all that bad besides the fact I'd be leaving home. But now I see that it was a mistake. There are things out there that you wouldn't expect—people who don't have a kind bone in their body; people who were so scared of outsiders they fled to gather an army at the mere sight of us."

She paused for a bit and reached for a plastic cup of water that was sitting on the rolling tray next to her. I got up and handed it to her and watched her take a sip. She had aged nearly ten years in those two she was gone.

"The problem was, though," she continued, "is that somewhere along the way I caught something. At first I thought it was something like the flu…you know, the upset stomach, tired, dizzy, cold. But then it started to get worse and I could feel myself going down hill. Sweetie, I don't want you to get scared or anything…but I can't walk anymore."

My eyes grew very wide and I felt the blood rushing to my fingertips. I forced myself to take a deep breath, but it was still so stunning to hear that my mother couldn't walk. "Why?"

"I don't know," she said. "Whatever disease I got took away my mobility from the waist down. It's been like this for about a day now and that was when Cell decided I needed to come home. He could've easily gotten me here sooner, but the faster he went, the more I felt like losing what food I had eaten."

I sat there in the silence that was created after her words. I looked at her, trying to figure out if maybe this was a bad dream. She didn't come out and say it, but the way she described symptoms, the way she looked…I had a horrible feeling she was dying.

I looked at her, salty water filling my eyes. "We'll get you better—I'll talk to the doctors, tell them to think hard about it—"

She shook her head and put her hand on mine, which rested next to her on the bed. "Its okay sweetie, they're already looking into something that'll make me comfortable."

The way she said it, the way her voice acknowledged the fact that this might be the end frightened me. I had come to know my mother as the bravest woman I'd ever met…and yet something like a disease will take her down after all the other stuff she's been through. It hurt…it hurt to the point where I wanted to just run away and hide in order to pretend it wasn't all real.

"I'll never forgive him for this…"

Mom reached over and picked up my hand with both of hers now, her face looking as if she was begging me for something. "Sasara, please don't be mad at him. It was my decision to go."

"He shouldn't have brought you!"

"Neither of us could've predicted anything that happened; it just did, sweetheart. You mustn't hate him for it."

"Well it's too late," I said and looked away towards the door that led to the small bathroom across from her bed. "Where is he anyway?"

At first she didn't answer. In fact, her eyes adverted away from my direction entirely. "I…I don't know to be honest with you."

I sat there for a moment and stared at her, unable to figure out what was really going on. She didn't know where Cell was, yet she was back on Earth. He had to be still here…even standing on top of the hospital building for all I knew.

"Mom," I said, "you have to know where he is."

She shook her head at me and I could tell she honestly didn't know. "I was feeling so sick I had no idea what was happening. After we hit the ground, he moved me away from the crater, but he had to put me down….after that I don't know where he went. All I know…is that something wasn't right with him either."


	3. The Unexpected

**AN: **You know what's nice? Having a laptop that you can carry around with you and then being able to work on a fanfic whenever you have free time between classes. Yes, I like it. I also like it because I can be sick in bed while writing…until my head gives up. Anyway, because I've been taking more time than I should have to write, I actually got halfway through chapter 5. I expect 4 to be up tomorrow, 5 to be up sometime soon—possibly tomorrow as well. We'll see how I feel.

And thanks for the reviews! Next time I'll try to reply to anything you guys say :)

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**Chapter 3: **_The Unexpected_

I stayed with my mother for the remainder of the day, or until, that is, they kicked me out because visiting hours were over. Had she been in the Intensive Care Unit then they would've let me stay. Although, I guess it was okay for now since she was comfortable and sleeping and I desperately needed to get home and get food.

The drive home was calm concerning traffic, nerve-wrecking considering today's events. I hadn't expected to ever see my mother again, although it had been a hope that I had been trying hard not to concentrate on since the day she left. The problem that hurt me even more was that I had no one to talk to about what was happening. First of all, I'd be going home to an empty house because Kei was away for a few days on business, and second even if he were home I couldn't tell him anything because he wasn't supposed to know. No one knew…and I wasn't about to let the cat out of the bag now.

Arriving home to the dark house felt eerie for the first time in two years. I switched on the lights, dumped my stuff on the kitchen table and immediately began heating up the kettle so I could have a large cup of coffee. I had a feeling I'd need as much caffeine as I could get.

You probably figured it out by now that I wasn't about to go to bed when so much has come up. And you probably also figured out from that sentence that since I couldn't go back to visit my mother, I was about to go on another quest. I had given the hospital my mobile number in case anything came up, but I was prepared to do some investigating that no other reporter would think of doing. I was going to go find Cell.

I had two cups of coffee while heating up a frozen dinner since that was the quickest and easiest. While everything was in the microwave, I set out to change into a pair of jeans and a lightweight sweatshirt that was a bit snug, but still felt comfortable. On went the sneakers and a baseball hat, my hair being pulled through the hole provided by the adjustment strap in the back.

After dinner I was set to go; I had gone online and printed out the location of the news source, then plotted out a course. It would probably take near two hours to get there, but I was planning on calling out of work tomorrow anyway, so I had the time. Sleep wasn't an option right now.

The drive was horribly boring. I really didn't know where I was going, which didn't help matters, but I guess it was enough to keep me from falling asleep. It took no time at all to get beyond the borders of civilization and into nothingness. There were scattered trees that built random forests and then a lot of nothing—mainly dirt and small mountain-like formations. I flipped on the navigation system in the car where I had already punched in my destination, and it claimed that I should be getting close.

My assumptions were assured when I saw a news van driving passing me from the other direction apparently done with their report and heading home for the night. At least I knew I was on the right road. Although I should have just given it a few more minutes because I soon found what seemed to be an entire fleet of vans that had lights and crews set up everywhere.

I pulled off the road and put the car in park, the lights turning off automatically; I sat there and watched the people moving around the monstrous ditch in front of me. Naturally, though, I wasn't interested in that. I wanted to know where the person who made it had disappeared too.

Taking the keys out of the ignition and putting them in my pocket, I got out of the car and looked around. It was quiet save for the people near the crater. There wasn't much of anything around here except what seemed like a forest of rocks that had built up over the years, a few trees growing around them in odd directions.

I figured that if Cell were still hanging around, he'd be there…hopefully. Actually, I had nothing to go on except that was the only place around here to actually hide; something inside, though, told me that I needed to go check it out.

No one knew I was there, so I was undisturbed as I headed in the direction of the rocks. I had brought a flashlight with me; I flicked it on and pointed it at the ground as I cautiously walked over to the spot in question. I heard some laughter over towards the crater, but I didn't bother stopping to see if someone suspected me. I could care less with what was going on over there.

I arrived at the rocks and moved the flashlight around. There didn't seem to be anything there. I put the handle-end in my mouth and started to climb up a little ways, wondering how much of this thing there was to explore. When I got further up, though, I saw something that wasn't part of the rock formation. A yellow foot sat out from the side of a larger rock, but the leg it was attached to was hidden in the shadows.

I pointed the light at the appendage and let out a heavy sigh. "Cell," I said stiffly and walked over to where the owner of that foot sat. Surprisingly enough my assumptions that Cell was here were correct; even more surprising was that he was sitting there, his back leaning up against the stone wall behind him and his legs stretched out.

"I should've known I'd meet with you again, Sasara," he said almost bitterly. That elegant flair to his masculine voice was undetectable and I could tell that my mother had been right—something was wrong with him. Did he too suffer from some foreign disease?

"You bastard," I started on him without even thinking twice about it. "What the hell did you do to my mother? How could you put her in such harm?"

Though the light I held in my hand did not directly gleam across his face, I saw his magenta eyes flash at me with a brilliance that spelt terror. His pure white teeth sneered through his pale gray lips. "Do not accuse me of your mother's condition," he spat. "I had nothing to do with it. It's not my fault something entered her system."

"And what something was that?" I said, putting my hands on my hips, thus pulling the light away from him.

"How the hell am I to know?" he retorted. "A virus, perhaps? Use your brain, foolish girl."

"Don't give me that crap, Cell," I said. "You're the one who brought her to wherever you went—"

"Before you continue," he interrupted, "let me remind you that you were the one who pushed your mother into going with me. I had asked, yes, but you said it was what she wanted. And so she thought it was best and agreed. I did not force her, just like I had not forced her into anything since the first day we met. I will not allow you to stand there and lecture me on grounds you have no right to step foot on."

I stood in an uncomfortable silence for a long while. His misdemeanor was much different than I remember and I almost wondered if he caught something that changed his personality.

I focused the light back on him and he turned his head away, the tall side of the crest that sat atop his head facing me with its purity of green spots. "So what's wrong with you?" I asked, realizing that Cell was not someone to sit around in the literal sense.

"Even if I knew, I would not tell you," he replied.

"Cut the crap," I snapped. "My mom said you had to put her down and leave her…why?"

I could faintly hear a growl thunder deep in his throat that he tried desperately to suppress. "You need not know."

"I want to know," I replied.

"Why? I do not believe its any of your business."

"You know, I have no idea what the hell went on between you and Mom in the past two years, but whatever it was isn't the issue at hand and it doesn't give you the right to be nasty with me. I'm just concerned for both of you."

I caught the astonishment in his face as his head turned quickly back to my direction. "Concerned? What on Earth for?"

"Just answer the original question," I said. "What's wrong with you?"

For a moment I didn't think he was going to answer; but I could tell he was thinking it over. Finally he pushed himself to his feet and stood up, though I will make a major note here that it was not in the easy, smooth and proud stance I had seen him taken before. He was a little hunched over, his hand rested on the rock wall he had been leaning against and he seemed…tired?

"I feel weak," he finally admitted. "I don't know why….I have never felt anything like it. I feel alive and well, yet I can't fly, I can't gather my energy and I can't even sense a stronger presence."

Never had I expected him to say that. He seemed sick, yet he said he felt fine minus the inability to do what made him unique amongst most people. "You…can't fly at all?" I asked stupidly.

"If I could, I wouldn't still be here," he said. "You have no idea how frustrated I am at the moment."

I snorted. "Oh I'm sure I can guess."

After standing there like an idiot for a moment, I decided that I'd lean up against the rock next to him. His head turned to my slightly and the bit I could see of his face from the flashlight that hung in my hand and illuminated the sapling tree in front of me showed that he wasn't so sure he wanted me to be there. I didn't give him much choice. Besides, after him saying that he was weak and powerless, what could he do to hurt me? The only thing that differed Cell from myself was the lack of a human appearance; as far as I could tell, he was still mainly the black and green I remembered clearly; his face was angelic in an odd, bio-diverse way for the android that he was, however he was still handsome…

Not that I had ever considered Cell handsome…although by now I believe you've come to the conclusion that he wasn't easy to just pass by if you had any sort of taste for good looking men.

"I don't need a babysitter," he said suddenly. My eyes were alerted to stare at him from their corners, but I made no motion to move. He seemed to get annoyed with this…naturally. "Don't you have a mother to take care of?"

This time he caught my attention. My head snapped around and I drilled my eyes deep into his flesh. "How dare you speak of her like that!" I yelled, thinking nothing of the chance that my voice echoed and alerted the reporters and scientists that surrounded the mysterious crater.

"Do not raise your tone, girl," he snapped back. "I merely speak the truth."

"What the hell is your problem with her all of the sudden," I asked. "I thought you two were in love or something…I mean, you were all about her from the stuff I read about according to her journals, and then how you acted when you thought she was dead two years ago."

"Perhaps things change during the course of time," he said, his voice much softer now. "Sasara, I'll ask you kindly only once—please leave me be."

I thought I noticed something on his face—something rather odd. Actually, it was more like I _didn't_ notice something that should have been on his face. It was hard to tell of course with the darkness and the background shadow from the flashlight, but I moved the lighting object around and gave myself a chance to see his face up-close.

What I had thought was missing indeed was: the signature purple sides of his face were gone. His face was completely pale gray, save for the hard-looking outline of yellow that lined his jaw and chin. "Cell, what's happened to your face?" I asked.

His eyes rolled towards me and gave me an aggravated look. He shoved the flashlight away so I could stop blinding him and nearly barked at me. "What are you mumbling about?"

"Your face isn't the same," I said. "It's losing its color…"


	4. The Pains of Change

**Its like the energizer bunny: **I thought of that analogy just not…these stories are just like the pink bunny with the drum…they just keep on going xD lol. Anyway, I was planning on doing individual responses to the reviews for this post, which by the way has been sitting here waiting for the past week but I wanted to give people a chance to read 3 first; but most of the reviews I received were basically giving the same response and asking the same questions. And there is just one thing I want to go over before you guys read just so you're not confused.

First off, Kei Kyoto…I hate to disappoint you guys, but I look back now and see that I wasn't completely clear. His name is merely a coincidence. He has nothing to do with Kibito-Kai. Sorry! I was actually looking for names on a website that lists Japanese names and Kei and Kyoto were two of them. However, some trivia for you guys—Kyoto was actually the capital of Japan up until 1868 when the new Meiji Era Emperor and the government in place changed it to Tokyo, which was once called Edo. I didn't know that when I gave my character the name; a week after doing so I started my Modern Japan class and found this out and I'm like Oh really? Hehe.

Also, here's another bit if trivia you might be interested in—it caught my attention in the way it shouldn't have xD In class we were going over the work-orientated middle class of Japan throughout the 20th century, and there is a thing called "Kaioshi"…of course I'm all thinking of Kaioshin, but it means "death from work" in the literal sense. Some people in Japan work so hard and give themselves so much stress that they die from it O.o Ouch! So don't work too hard guys! Lol.

And one last thing—thanks to those of you who wished me well :) I do feel tons better.

Now remember to review sweet readers:) Comments and questions welcome.

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**Chapter 4: **_The Pains of Change_

Cell stared at me as if I were crazy. Perhaps I was. However, the more I stared at him in disbelief, the more I was convinced that something was terribly wrong with the android. However, it concerned me not just because something was wrong, but how it _could_ be wrong. The thing about Cell as I'm sure you've guessed by now with me calling him an android is that he is one, but like I explained earlier, not your usual one. He wasn't made of metal, nuts and bolts, but he was created from actual cells of the greatest fighters in the universe; but he was still unlike any other living being I'd ever crossed. I had witnessed a historical memory of Cell's life first hand, thanks to that odd little wizard that forced me into this meditation that told me the picture-story of Cell. He hadn't always looked this way; he started from an egg, grew to this unsightly creature and after absorbing two creatures who _were_ metallic androids, he became what I knew now.

So how is it that suddenly he's changing? Was there some sort of fault that that Dr. Gero hadn't thought of? If after a certain amount of time had passed would Cell go under another transformation?

"Sasara, I'm not in the mood to fool around with your petty jokes," he said cold-heartedly.

"I am not making this up for a joke," I said honestly. "You don't have those purple lines on your face anymore. In fact, you look paler than I remember you being."

"In case you hadn't noticed, my skin color is much different than yours and takes on a grayish tint," he said as a matter of fact.

I let out a frustrated sigh and moved myself to face him. "Look, I'm not kidding!" I reached out to allow my hands to graze along the side of his face that should have been that deep plum color, but his arm instinctively shot up and his fingers curled around my wrist rather tightly. He might have felt weaker, but the domination of male genes inside of him still gave him the strength I'd never have as a smaller human woman.

Although his body language was threatening me, his facial expression said otherwise. His eyes had become wide and he stared directly at my hand. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what on Earth he was looking at that had surprised him so much. And then I had seen what bothered him. It wasn't my hand. It was his. What should have been black fingernails were no blacker than my own…in fact his nails were more of the normal pinky-color that you'd see on any average person.

"What's happening to me…?" He said in complete horror.

"I don't know," I said, but pouted. "Can I please have my hand back though?"

He didn't blink or even move for that matter, but his grip lessoned and his hand finally let go. I pulled away and sat some several feet away from him. He stood there in a complete state of shock and utter remorse. Whatever it was that was happening, it wasn't something (obviously) he was willing to experience.

"Do you think its part of your design?" I asked softly.

It took him a moment to finally blink and look at me as if he had just noticed I was there. "No," he said. "This should not be happening. I have not absorbed anything that would cause such a change."

"Nothing?"

"I just said nothing!" He yelled. He put his hand over his brow and bowed his head, eyes closed and teeth clenched.

I hesitated, but I was about to ask if he was okay. That would've been the stupidest question in the book to ask him since I knew he wasn't and he would've just shouted back another answer. Though what else was I supposed to say or do for him? I had no idea what was going and I couldn't even think of anything.

I looked around, wondering what else I could do. I saw my car sitting quietly some several meters away, perhaps a quarter of a kilometer, but nothing came to mind except getting him away from here. In fact, the more I thought about it maybe that's what I should do. Kei wouldn't be around for at least another two days, so there was nothing keeping me from bringing him home…

Yes, actually, there was. No offense to Cell but his odd shaped head and his long, stiff wings wouldn't allow for him to sit in a small car. And then there I was, still at a loss as to what to do for him. However, during my thinking moment, I hadn't noticed that he was taking far deeper breaths than was normal and he looked clammy.

"What's wrong now?" I asked gently.

He shook his head and took a jagged deep breath. "I…I feel horribly sick," he said. "I've only had one experience with a mortal sickness," he started but paused for a moment. "I…I had been losing my fight with that stupid child…during my Cell Games. He…he had punched me in the abdomen hard enough that dislodged Android 18 and forced her up my throat. This…this feels like its happening all over my body."

I cringed and wanted to puke myself, for lack of a better explanation. "So you think you're going to throw up?" I asked; my mouth curled in disgust. I was _not_ good with other people being sick. It usually made me join them.

He didn't answer me. Instead he knelt down, one knee touching the surface of the grassless terrain, the other still up to support his arm. "This feels worse than death," he said and again, I raised my eyebrow with complete surprise. How he could say such a thing was beyond me, but I guess for someone like Cell, who had never even experienced the common cold, it probably was much worse than getting blown up instantly.

It was at that moment I had figured out what was going on. He wasn't exactly sick, as in he had a viral infection or something; he was turning into what, technically speaking, made him sick in the figurative sense. I saw this when my eyes rested on his hunched back—the small stub of a tail that usually stuck out between his wings was gone.

"You're tail is gone," I said without realizing it. "Its like you're losing your android features."

His head turned towards me, agony written all over his face, and it seemed to dawn on him just as it had on me. "Do you suggest that…" he paused again to take several breaths, "that I'm…turning into you?"

"I'm starting to think along those lines," I replied truthfully. I went over to him and wrapped my hands around his arm. "Cell, whatever is happening to you, you can't stay here. You're much too vulnerable to anyone who'd want to capture you."

"Impossible," he said, but cut his breath short barely in time to finish his word. "Maybe you're right; but where do you suggest I go?"

"I'll take you home," I said. "Technically it'll be the only place you'll be safe."

"I refuse," he said and shook his head, but stopped to let his face stare at the dirt ground.

"So what do you think you should do?" I asked stubbornly. "Sit here and see what happens next? Hey, who knows, maybe your wings will develop feathers."

"I'm finding no humor in this!" He snapped yet again.

"Then you're coming back with me, you pompous ass!" I yanked on his arm and he nearly fell over from his instability. I managed, however, to get him to his feet and he unwillingly followed me, but his steps were short and uneven. Actually, to any spectator he would've appeared to be drunk.

We reached the edge of the rocks and trees and I looked over to my right to see there were still crews set up near the crater. I thought for a moment, and then turned to face Cell, who looked as if he was about to pass out. "I'm going to go get my car…stay here, alright?"

For once there was no argument or hassle. He nodded his head and knelt down again. I backed away, suddenly feeling incredibly sorry for him, and then turned to run towards the car. I had to hurry before someone caught either of us.

Once in the driver's seat I shoved the key into the ignition and started the engine. The question of the century was how the hell to drive a car across a desert-like terrain quickly, but without drawing attention to yourself? I decided, however, that the question didn't need to be officially asked and I hurried back to where I had come, probably tossing up a lot of dust and making a lot of noise.

I pulled up to Cell, who now looked worse, even within those ten minutes it took me to get my car and back. If I hadn't known better, I would've said that Cell shrunk a little bit—the tall, pointy sides of his head included. He seemed thinner and less bulky.

I got out of the car and hurried to open the backseat door. "Climb in," I told him and he did so as quickly as he could. I saw a lot of movement near the crater—including a van starting to back up and turn around.

As soon as Cell was in, I jumped back into the driver's seat and hurried off. I didn't even want to think of what I was doing in terms of wear and tear on my poor car. But I was thankful that it took the beating; we got back on the road quickly and I reached a ridiculously high speed in a matter of seconds. I heard a moan from the back seat as soon as we jumped to the pavement. I glanced over my shoulder to see Cell laying on the back seat in complete agony.

"Just hang in there, alright?"

I prayed to the heavens that there weren't any cops around. The last thing I needed was to be pulled over for speeding. Ha, imagine how that would go over. "Oh, no officer, I didn't know there was some odd looking man in my back seat. Should I be concerned?"

What took me two hours to get there only took an hour and a half on the return trip. I was afraid to really go overboard with speeding because of that fear of getting caught by cops. It was hard to see what was going on in the back seat of the car without any road lights, but I would hear a groan every few minutes or so.

I quickly pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. The inside lights of the auto turned on when I pulled the key out of the ignition and I immediately turned around. Cell was indeed worse—what was green had lost almost all signs of the dark green spots; where it was black, it was barely gray; the thing on his head had shrunk down considerably, as did the rest of his body.

"Cell," I said, "c'mon, you can lay down inside."

"Leave me be," he said between clenched teeth.

What a baby. "No," I demanded and got out to open the backseat door. "Let's go…I'm not risking you staying in here all night."

It took a moment, but he was able to crawl out. I found that without the near 30 centimeter crest on his head that he seemed much shorter and somehow more manageable. I urged him to put an arm around my shoulder and I managed to get him to stumble inside the house. Without even closing the door I helped him down the hall into the spare bedroom and let him fall on the bed.

I made sure he wasn't going to roll off before I hurried back to lock up the doors and turn off the outside lights. I returned to the bedroom to find him lying on his back, one arm draped over his stomach, one leg hanging off. He was taking deep breaths and his eyes were shut tightly. I couldn't imagine my body changing like that…especially when you weren't gaining strength but losing it. I stood there for several long minutes just watching him, his gray toned face and hands getting more color and the body that I knew as his own was very slowly disappearing. I had a feeling that he wouldn't appreciate any more questions…

…But I couldn't help but make sure he'd be okay. "Cell, can I get you anything?"

He didn't answer. Even after standing around and waiting for another five minutes he remained silent; only the pain-staked expression remained on his face. I let my head nod and I let him be, closing the door shut behind me as I exited to the hall.


	5. A State of Normality

**Alrighty**… So I wanted to have this up like 12 hours ago, but that didn't happen. Better late than never I guess, right? Now, let's talk…lol. First off, I thank all of you for the reviews…lets see what I can say here to you guys…Most of you realized what's happening to poor Cell xD Guy hasn't a chance with me anymore. I put him through so much torture…he wishes he was never created, hehe. I can't really say much more because it'll spoil things. I did have a bunch of stuff I wanted to say earlier, but I completely forgot now…oops.

I will, however, share this with you: Go to the website I'll list…you'll have to like type it in as I wrote it because we all know doesn't like urls…and check out the picture. This is what inspired this fic, given to me by one of my dear reviewers :) It'll help you see what I'm talking about :)

Here it is: http colon colon slash slash **fa** dot **mediaminer** dot **org** slash **97** slash **176497** dot **jpg**

Hopefully it works for you. If not, feel free to send me a message and I'll send you the link if it'd work through PM.

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**Chapter 5: **_A State of Normality_

I awoke around four in the morning to discover that not only was the sun not up, but neither was my cat. I forgot to mention that Kei had given me a kitten a few weeks after we started dating. Anyway, the animal decided that she wasn't in the mood to be alone, therefore curled herself around my foot at the end of the bed. I hadn't changed out of my clothes from the previous night, and I hadn't bothered to get under the covers. I guess I wanted to be ready for whatever happened.

On the nightstand next to the bed I picked up the phone to make sure I didn't have any missed calls; although that was unlikely because the cell phone was always enough to take me out of a peaceful sleep. I shouldn't have been surprised to see that the battery was at the last bar and it was practically begging me to be charged. Obviously the only thing to do was to get up, head to the kitchen, open the drawer that hid the charger and plug the stupid thing in. Miko didn't appreciate this too much because now she had to relocate herself.

I was thankful that the hospital didn't call me. It meant two things: one, my mother was doing alright, and two I didn't have to run there and leave the mutating android locked up in my house. Although speaking of that particular android, I realized that it had been five hours since I last saw him…

I went down the hall and knocked on the door, but there was no reply. At first I feared the worst, but when I opened up the door and peeked in I saw something I expected to see, yet was still stunned at the sight. Cell—the tall, green and black android with wings like a bug—had disappeared entirely. Instead, a young man lay naked atop the bed face down, completely asleep.

I was embarrassed at first, but it was nothing I hadn't seen before. I got a blanket from the hall closet and went in to drape it over him. I had figured that the movement would've startled him, but he was still sound asleep. I looked his now covered figured over and saw that though he was human—a word that just didn't seem to fit him—he was still toned in the right places, oddly enough. He wasn't built like a body builder or even someone who would've lifted weights every night, but he wasn't a skinny, little twerp either. Jet black hair had replaced the crest on his head and mid-sized ears had grown where there used to be what looked like hollowed-out yellow cubes.

It was amazing. Somehow he had done what most comic book heroes never had—he reverted back into an average human being.

I stood there for a moment, watching as he slept soundly, leaning over a little bit more to get a better look at his face which was turned away from me. It was hard to tell because his arm was near his head, so I'd have to wait to see what human Cell looked like entirely. Human…it still doesn't sound right.

I returned to the kitchen to start up some coffee brewing and call up my boss to tell him that I was taking time off because of my mother. Of course he knew about the whole situation—remember there were already people standing outside her door waiting for information when I arrived and told them to get out. The one thing about my boss, though, was that he was understanding. He didn't ask me to give him a report of what was going on like I almost half expected; instead he told me to take as much time as I needed. Thank the heavens.

Just as I was about to feed Miko a horrific scream bellowed through the house. I jumped, the cat went scurrying away, and it took me a moment to figure out what I was hearing. Then it dawned on me….Cell must have woken up.

I hurried down the hall and ran into the room to see a sight that was more humorous than anything. The poor guy was standing in the middle of the room, the blanket that I had put on him laying in a heap at his feet. I had startled him when I opened the door, but his face stared at me coldly and completely filled with anger.

"I see you woke up…" I said, trying hard not to let my eyes wonder.

He snarled, his fists clenching tightly enough for me to see his knuckles turning white. The thing that caught my attention though was his eyes. Cell's entire body had transformed, but the one feature that remained was his stunning pink eyes. I had to say, even when he was completely pissed off, he was pretty cute even as a human.

"This," he grumbled, "is _not_ amusing."

"I didn't say it was," I replied, trying very hard to be serious. I wanted so badly to say something to him about his appearance though…

"LOOK AT ME!" he hollered and I stepped back in fear that somehow he hadn't lost all of his odd powers. "I'm a bloody human! I'm nothing more than a _mortal human_!"

He had been yelling so loudly I was almost afraid; I hadn't known that Cell could raise his voice like that. The thing is it was all understandable. The poor guy hated humans and now he was one. What a twist of fate.

"I cannot go on like this!" He said, turning around and taking a couple of steps towards the closet. "Why has this happened?"

I shook my head and went over to where the blanket lay on the floor next to the bed. I picked it up and began to fold it, but he came around and grabbed my arm tightly.

"Do you not care, Sasara!" he demanded.

My eyebrows furrowed and I yanked my arm away, my face clearly spelling out annoyance with his behavior. "I do care," I told him harshly, "but what the hell do you think I can do about it? Until yesterday I was living my life in peace with no problems. Now you come back here and all sorts of crap start up."

"Do not make me threaten you," he snarled.

With that comment, I shoved the blanket back to the floor and pointed my finger at him. I didn't care what he had been, but he wasn't going to talk to me like this. I did deserve some respect. "Look it buster," I started, "there's nothing I can do about this, got it? It's not my fault. I think I've been pretty damn good to you with helping you out this far, so a _little appreciation_ would be nice! If you want to go out and try to live like that, then go ahead! And good luck to you!"

I turned around and started to head back towards the door when he spoke; "You wouldn't honestly just give up on me, would you?" His voice was far from calm, but thankfully it wasn't as loud.

"I might!" I spat back.

"I doubt it," he returned.

"Don't be too sure, Cell," I said. "I think you humans feel too much pity and guilt to just toss me out."

I turned around and stared at him, my lip twitching slightly and my ears feeling rather hot. I was about to go right up to him and smack that pretty face of his when I heard my mobile phone ringing in the kitchen. I didn't even say a word to Cell before running out and down the hall.

I picked up the device and my heart nearly jumped up my throat. I recognized the hospital number and immediately I thought the worst. "Hello?" I said quickly. I listened…and my lungs started to release jagged breaths. I could feel my free hand shaking a bit and I instantly felt hot.

I hung up the phone and set it back down on the counter to finish charging for the last few minutes I had to get myself ready. I went back down the hall, the argument with Cell completely gone from my mind as I reentered the room where he still stood.

"And what was that all about?" he asked with a tinge of annoyance.

I looked at him, my eyes nearly filling with tears. "My mom had a heart attack a few hours ago," I said and then the tears jumped forward, but I was able to keep myself from bawling. "They said they don't know how much longer she has…"

Cell looked at me for a moment as if he didn't understand what I had said. And then it must have hit him. His anger started to disappear from his face and his body relaxed. "As in she's going to die?"

I shook my head as if to say I didn't know. I was having such a horrible time keeping myself from breaking down. For a long while I stared at the floor, trying hard to will my body to get moving so I could go see her. Finally, though, I was able to look back up at Cell and give a half smile.

"Come with me…I think I can find you some clothes." He didn't say anything, but followed without hesitation. I led him back into my bedroom where I went over to one of the bureaus and pulled open a drawer full of Kei's clothes. "Here," I said and tossed him a yellow t-shirt. "Put that on…I'll find you some pants."

Oddly enough Kei's pants fit him, though my boyfriend was a little shorter; but he wore them a little longer than they probably should be. For Cell, however, they fit just fine. He looked at himself in the mirror, a small look of disgust coming over his face.

"I can't believe this has happened to me," he said calmly. "I feel like an idiot."

"You look fine," I said and picked up my purse. "Let's go."

"Go?" He said and turned. "You expect me to go with you?"

I looked at him boldly, as if telling him not to mess with me right now. "I'm not leaving you here by yourself when you have no idea what goes on in the real world. You're a human now…you'll have to just live with it until it changes."

Cell snorted, but followed after I tossed him a pair of Kei's sneakers, which of course I had to tie for him because he hadn't the slightest clue with a simple thing like that. We got into the car and headed out, but having Cell in the passenger seat was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever experienced. He stared out the window with a huge pout and I wanted to badly to just smack him for acting like a child.

When we were entering the parking garage of the hospital some time later, I decided I needed to lay some ground rules for him. "Alright, listen," I said as I turned the corner and headed up to the next level. "Whatever you do, keep your temper in check, got it? You have nothing over anyone else right now and it'll just cause more problems that I don't need."

"I don't need you to tell me what to do," he said smugly.

"Right now yes you do," I lectured. "I'm not kidding Cell. If you act up then they'll just arrest you and throw you in jail. Then I have to figure a way to get you out of there." _Or just leave you to rot…_I thought bitterly. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in rejection. "Oh, and we need to give you a different name when we're out in public," I said.

"What?" He questioned sternly and turned to stare at me with bright pink eyes. "You must be joking."

"No," I said. "Can you imagine me going around calling you 'Cell'? That'll raise questions. Remember, you're etched into the history books as a world terrorist, not some grand hero that people name their kids after."

I thought for a moment, trying hard to think of something that wouldn't be so bad on him. Bob? Rob? Mike? What?

"Seru," Cell said suddenly. I looked over at him right before I turned into a parking spot.

"Say what?" I asked.

"Seru," he repeated coldly. "It's my name in a foreign tongue. I believe you can handle that, can't you?"

I pulled the car into my chosen spot and turned it off before looking at him. "You can speak other languages?"

"Please," he said. "I'm not as uneducated as you may think."

"I didn't say you were uneducated," I said as I got out of the car. "I just didn't know that you knew other languages."

"I was programmed with several," he said and I raised my hand and gave him wide eyes. "Oh, so I'm not to say anything of my history, am I?"

"Definitely not," I said quickly. "Then they'll think you're insane."

"This entire thing is insane," he muttered as he followed me into the building.

We passed the information desk and went straight up to where the nurse on the phone told me they had placed Mom. I hated hospitals, but the intensive care floor was horrible. Every room that you were able to glance in had people laying in bed half alive, everything in creation hooked up to them, family members crying everywhere, and worst of all it was dead quiet. There was a lack of happiness and life all together.

I watched the room numbers as we traveled down the hall and discovered that in front of the room my mother was in was a nurse with a cart full of medications. She stood silently watching Cell and I as we went in, but I paid her no attention except a half-smirk.

My heart immediately pulled itself up into my throat and my blood rushed through my body. Mom looked absolutely horrible. Her face was nearly gray, her hair was uncombed and dirty and she had more wires attached to her for monitoring than a telephone pole had.

"Mommy?" I said timidly as I went to her bedside, the beeping of the heart monitor overpowering my voice.

In a few moments her gray eyes opened and looked at me, a small smile coming to her face. "Sasara," she whispered.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and tried very hard not to cry…it wasn't easy, let me tell you. She held onto my hand and I hers, but I had the distinct feeling that this would be the last time I'd ever be with my mother again.

"My baby girl," she said softly. "Do you know how proud I am of you?"

"Yeah," I said. It was only a matter of seconds before tears fell from my eyes and onto my chest. "I'm proud of you too, Mom. I love you."

"Oh, don't talk like that," she said with a small laugh, but choked a moment later. "I've enjoyed my life…and you've been the happiest part of it. There's nothing more in this world that I love. I can't tell you enough how wonderful a daughter you've been."

I was crying completely now. My usual stiff-upper-lip personality had shriveled completely and I was at the mercy of this painful feeling that threatened to open up a gate I hadn't opened since I was a teenager. I squeezed her hand and brought it up to let it slide against the side of my face.

Then I remembered Cell. I looked to the side of the room where he was standing in the near-shadows, arms crossed and eyes trying hard not to focus on the scene. I motioned for him to come over and that's when mom saw him. She looked at me with questioning eyes and I shook my head.

"Do you know who this is?" I asked in a low voice.

For a moment she stared at Cell, who had reluctantly moved closer to the ailing woman he had claimed to love. Mom looked at him for quite some time, but finally she nodded. "Cell?"

"Very good," he said bitterly. "You're not the only one who's suffering."

I wanted nothing more than to slap him. He had no problems—his physical appearance was merely altered, but my mother was literally on her death bed. How dare he say anything like that to her.

Yet now was not the time to start anything with him. "Cell's experienced a bit of a problem," I said and gave him sharp, cold eyes.

"I see that," Mom replied. "I know you'll hate me even more for saying this Cell, but I'm glad it happened now…this way I can say one last thing to you."

She released my hand, causing me to feel completely alone for a long, harsh moment, and stretched out her arm to him. At first he wouldn't take it, but finally he allowed his hand to be taken by hers and he stepped up closer.

"I know things have been hard during several occasions," she started and I saw a single tear dripping from the corner of her eye and beading its way down her pale face. "I want to thank you, though, for changing my life—for the better. Who knows where I would've ended up if it weren't for you….You were truly a mystical knight in shining armor during our short-lived adventures."

I looked up at Cell to see his face stiff and jaw clenched tightly. I was having a hard time figuring out if he was disgusted by what she was saying to him or if he was truly touched by it. With him, it wasn't easy to tell.

"Cell," she said, "please forgive me. You and I were old news. But…as a friend…I ask for one last thing, if you'd do me the honor of granting it."

I waited impatiently for him to give her the okay to ask, but I was also filled with so much confusion I wanted her to continue with what she was saying. Finally, though, I caught him give a very, minute nod.

"Please protect her," she said. "If anything is to happen again…"

What surprised me with this moment was not just the type of conversation, not the thought that there was something more behind her words than I knew, and not the fact that there was obviously something wrong between them…but the fact that Cell nodded one last time and kissed the top of her hand like the hidden gentlemen he was.


	6. Goodbye, Layrial

**Rainy Day Post: **Well, at least it's raining here…and it's wicked cold out too. I have about twenty minutes before I have to head to my next class, so I figured I'd just post the chapter I finished only moments ago ;)

First, I do want to point out that the url I had given you guys the time before had a typo, which I know a few of you had noticed. If you hadn't, after the http there should only be one colon, not two ;) oops! But I do have another link that you guys might enjoy, which I had told StormRaven333 about. It contains the same sketch I showed you, but also another sketch that I'm sure none of you would ever expect Cell to do….

It's: http dash dash www 7 dot plala dot or dot jp dash matsugu dash junk dash cellsankou dot jpg

The dash is this little guy - And it is a different type of url code at the beginning, but hopefully it works for you. If not, feel free to send me a PM and we'll go from there.

Also, Thomas Drovin had asked if "Seru" is really Cell's name in a foreign tongue…the answer is yes for those of you that aren't familiar with the original Japanese version of DBZ. Seru directly translates into Cell, and on the new site I listed above the kanji (Japanese letters) for it are in the top left corner.

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as you can!

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**Chapter 6: **_Goodbye, Layrial_

Cell had released Mom's hand and stepped away again, as if allowing me to have this last moment with her. He knew exactly what I knew, though there wasn't much to analyze in this situation. Mom's health had deteriorated rapidly to the point of almost nonexistence. I saw her taking very long, deep breaths and the monitor indicated a slower pace of her heart. I was losing her…

"Sasara, sweetie," she said suddenly and my attention was drawn back to her face. "If you talk to your father, and I hope you do, tell him that I will miss him and that I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused. Please…I know you don't agree with it, but do it for me."

"Mommy, please stop talking like this," I begged, tears steadily running down my face.

"Oh, sweetheart," she said and I leaned over so she could kiss me after the indication. "Please don't cry. It's a part of life; and I know that this is just but one journey I've taken. We'll meet again someday…I promise."

"I…I can't go on," I pleaded as if asking her not to pass on was an option.

She smiled again and clenched her fingers around my hand. "You can," she replied. "You've done so well for yourself in the two years I've been gone. You were able to let me go before…I know you're strong enough to do it again."

"But—"

"Shh," she soothed. "You're my baby girl. I love you."

Her eyes closed.

There was one last deep breath hidden under a small smile.

The monitors relayed an ongoing beep and the lines became horizontally parallel.

My mother was gone. I felt like it happened so quickly that I had a hard time remembering the time I spent with her the day before and even seconds ago. I felt like I missed an entire lifetime with her, but the emptiness I felt grew only deeper the longer I looked at her lifeless body.

Finally I found enough strength in my sorrow-filled body to get up and let go of her hand. I leaned over the railing of the bed and gave her one last kiss on the forehead. "Goodbye, Mom," I said and a few tears dripped onto her gray-blue hair.

When I backed away and turned around I saw that Cell stood still; the proud, noble, arrogant look that was usually plastered on his face was undetectable and I wondered what he was feeling. I didn't bother to ask. I just assumed that perhaps he felt something along the lines of sadness as I did. Then again, as I walked past him, I remembered that Cell only felt emotions of hate and scorn. He couldn't possibly understand what this was all about.

I walked down the hall to the main nurses' desk and told them that my mother had passed away. There was silence amongst all the women there and they each expressed their condolences and told me that I could make arrangements by calling a number when I was ready. I thanked them and started walking back to my car, only assuming that Cell was following me.

I didn't even bother checking to see if he was there until I had unlocked the doors and saw him going over to the passenger side. I gave him a disdainful look as I opened the door and fell down into the seat; I stared absent mindedly at the steering wheel and closed the door behind me.

"What was that for?" he asked irritably.

"Huh?" I said as I snapped out of my trance and looked over to him.

His eyes bore into me, unsure of what was going on in my head. "The look you gave me," he replied. "What was that supposed to represent?"

"It represents the fact that I still blame you for this," I said without thinking and immediately regretted it.

"It's not my problem your mother kicked the bucket," he said.

But before he could continue I immediately reached over and slapped his face. "Don't you _ever_ say something like that _ever again_, got it?" I started crying at that moment with the fear he would retaliate, but the hate that was steadily growing inside of me. "She was an admirable woman that put up with you when she shouldn't have," I lectured. "She did a lot for you and you can't even acknowledge it."

"She did nothing for me except cause me this," he retorted and motioned to his body. "My position is completely a fault made by her. I wouldn't even be here putting up with your sickening attitude if it wasn't for that woman. I will not tolerate you acting as if I'm a normal human that you can smack around with your petty words."

"Your problem is not my mother's fault!" I yelled at him.

"I was fine until I came back to this disgusting planet!" he yelled.

"So why the hell did you come back?" I hollered back.

"Because I knew she was dying and thought she'd rather die here rather than on some remote planet you ungrateful, irritating little bitch!" My eyes became seriously wide and I felt like completely breaking down. "If it weren't for me you wouldn't have had a chance to say your pathetic little goodbyes!"

The tears had stopped running down my face because I was in too much shock from his words to feel anything else but the pain of his voice hitting my ears. I felt like each resentful word he spoke had drilled a hole into my chest. My breaths became jagged and I nearly choked on one of them.

There was complete silence after he yelled at me. I couldn't find the willpower to say anything back at him and he chose not to continue for whatever reason. I clutched the steering wheel and brought my head down so my forehead rested on the top of it. I suddenly broke into a full-scale sob and couldn't stop. There were far too many emotions running rapidly through my brain for me to calm down at the drop of a hat.

"Oh, don't start this foolish nonsense," he said with annoyance clearly written in his tone.

"Shut up and go away," I said between sobs and continued. I didn't care if it brought down my pride; I didn't care if it made him uncomfortable to have me crying with him sitting helplessly next to me.

It was a long while before I calmed down and was able to sit back up. I don't think there were any more tears left in me; otherwise I'm sure I would've found the means to release them. I was heartbroken to the point I didn't care what happened to me. Surprisingly, though, Cell hadn't left. He still sat in his seat, arm crossed tightly over his chest and his head facing the window so he didn't have to look at me.

I didn't bother saying anything to him as I wiped my eyes and started the car. I wanted to go home and finish my crying so I could get it done and over with. I was so mad at him it wasn't even funny. I wish he had never existed.

As I was backing out of the parking space and headed to the entrance of the garage, I wondered if I would have still been born if it weren't for Cell. The events that he created, including the meeting with my mother, ultimately led to her meeting my father and my conception. Truthfully speaking, Cell was the reason I was alive…

"I'm sorry," I said when we were nearly home. I looked over, my eyes still feeling puffy from all the crying, my face feeling tear-stained. He, on the other hand, did nothing to respond but continued to look out the window.

It wasn't until we were home that I got any response from him at all. I turned the car off and fiddled with the keys in my hand, my eyes stuck on the site of the little silver objects that gently clinked when they touched.

"Cell," I said but he still hadn't moved an inch since the last time I glanced over. "Look, I said I'm sorry. What do you want from me?"

"Absolutely nothing," he said as he slowly turned his head, his striking eyes looking at me with ice surrounding the pupils. "When I regain my power, I am leaving you and this rotten planet."

I watched as he got out of the car and started to head away from the house. I turned in my seat to see how far he would go, but it looked as if he was either taking a long walk, or following through with phase one of his last statement. It seemed like a long while, watching him walk away, but he suddenly disappeared among the trees in the distance.

It was a long while before I finally got out of the car and went into the house. I don't know how much time had passed since I had left the hospital, but I knew that certain things had to be done.

After calling several individuals to make arrangements for my mother's funeral and surprisingly enough I hadn't cried. Perhaps I had gotten over the urge to let tears fall freely, but I knew that my grieving had only just begun. Maybe things would slow down once the funeral was over. However, what I really needed right now was for Kei to come home.

I was highly disappointed to get his voicemail when I tried calling him. I needed to talk to someone so badly. On the other hand, perhaps his voicemail was a gift because I hadn't thought of an alternate story to tell him or anyone else. Kei knew my mother had gone missing after the disaster two years ago, but he didn't know anything beyond that. In fact, the only person I could openly talk to about anything would one, not listen, and two he had just walked off without giving any indication of when he'd return…or if.

I was alone. I was alone to think of my own miserable thoughts. There was nothing else that I wanted more in the world than the answers as to why this had happened. Something had gone wrong out there and Cell was the only person who could answer it. Yet the main question to me now, after hearing them speak to one another and the stiff attitude Cell displayed to his former lover, was what had happened to them?


	7. Moment of Truth

**Long time, huh?: **I do want to apologize for those of you that have been waiting for this. I also apologize for those of you that weren't able to view that picture from the url I tried to post in here. I had received several PMs from people, and I do really beg forgiveness for not returning a response…I didn't intend to be away from my fanfic efforts for so long. However, I posted the link in my personal website (which, please note, I haven't touched in years…and it took me a while to figure things out again XD). You can find the link to my website in my profile here. Once there, go down to where it has the separate fanfic pages and click on the DBZ link. At the bottom of that page I posted the url and you can copy and paste it from there :) If there's still problems, I'll try harder to figure out the image thing—but that was the quickest method for me.

Again, questions are welcome especially if this chapter doesn't seem clear. I wrote it a while ago and hoped for better inspiration for what I wanted to say, so I left it to discover its going to stay as is. I can't say when chapter 8 will get out since I have so much stuff on my plate right now its making Thanksgiving dinner look mild ;) hehe. Hope all is well for everyone else. Until later…

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**Chapter 7: **_Moment of Truth_

Dinner had come and gone, the dishes were cleaned and put away, and I had pulled out my mother's journals from nearly 30 years ago, but still Cell had not returned. I was going to read them to see if I had missed something that may have told me what might've gone wrong with their adventure in space, but what that something would've been I didn't know. Maybe it was more to the fact that I wanted to read something she wrote, as if she were here telling to me in person. I missed her something awful, as I'm sure was to be expected. A few pages in, however, I gave up and stared out the window for what seemed like an eternity.

The outdoors was completely dark save for the half moon that hung in the sky, but stars didn't twinkle amongst that dark blanket because of the cloud cover. It was eerie and I had a horrible feeling that Cell could be in trouble. If he was his usual android self then I wouldn't have thought twice about him, but since he's just human now….

That brought a thought up; just how vulnerable was Cell? Was he still the android, but just shaped like a human? Did he still have extra-human strength, but maybe just didn't know it? Or was he completely normal and couldn't do much more than any other common man?

I curled my legs into the cushioned chair I sat in and hugged them tightly. I couldn't remember a time I felt so alone. Even after the day the disaster when I had met Cell I hadn't felt like this because in the back of my mind I believed that one day my mom would come back. I just didn't expect it to be for only a day.

Before I knew what was happening there seemed to be something going on outside. Miko, my cat, had been alerted and ran to the window and acted if something was right there. I looked, but saw nothing in the ever-lasting darkness. I thought Miko was crazy…that is until I heard the garbage cans fall over.

Not even considering anything except a burglar, I went into the hall closet and took out the baseball bat. It wasn't Kei because he knew how to get in without hitting anything. I ducked down in the kitchen as I saw a shadow outside near the light. My heart pounded in my chest and my knuckles turned white from the firm grip I kept on the bat.

The shadow moved away and I cautiously opened the door. I was not going to spend the night wondering where this person was around my house or if they went away. I snuck outside, not even bothering to close the door behind me. I wasn't even a step away when a figure emerged from around the corner. I stood up, yelled out loudly and swung the bat as hard as I could.

I heard a loud thud as the person went down and a sharp cry from the impact. But then I saw a man with black hair and a familiar yellow shirt lying on the ground clutching his head. I nearly died when I realized it was Cell and all he was doing was trying to get back inside.

I let go of the temporary weapon and dropped to my knees. "Oh my God, Cell are you okay!?"

"Ugh, get away you hazardous creature!" He yelled as he got to his feet, though he was a bit wobbly.

"Come inside and I'll get you some ice," I told him and I hurried in to fetch the cold cubes. I pulled out a plastic bag and filled it while Cell stumbled in and took a seat at the kitchen table, his hand still clutching what I'm sure was a growing bump on the side of his noggin.

"I don't need it," he snapped as I held out the bag.

"Put it on your head you dumb ass," I snapped and shoved it into his lap. He grabbed it away immediately and stared at it with hatred before applying it to the pain. "Thank me later."

"For what, whacking me?" He asked.

I didn't answer. Instead I sat down across from him and remained silent. For the longest while there was complete silence between us. He stared off into another direction, as if to pretend I wasn't there at all. I looked at the table and found myself studying the grains in the wood.

After a while I couldn't take it any longer. I wanted answers. "Cell," I started and wasn't surprised when he didn't respond in any way. "I want some things answered here starting with what happened that caused this chaos?"

He inclined his head towards me, but his expression told me he didn't want to talk. I gave him a cold stare, which apparently was enough to push him into words. "Do not give me you nasty look. After the way you've treated me I'm not going to say a damn word to you."

I stood up and put my hands on my hips—yeah, as if that was going to make him feel highly inferior. "The way I've treated you? Excuse me? I don't think so! How about the times you tried strangling my mom? Or broke her arm? Or nearly let me die because you wanted to see how I could handle myself."

"And neither of you died as a result of those actions, correct?"

"That's not the point," I snapped.

He stood up then and tossed the ice on the floor, the bag splitting and the melting solid liquid pieces flying across the tile. I jumped back a bit from the suddenness of his actions, but I wasn't going to step down. If I could knock him down with a bat, my question of where his strength stood had been answered.

"No, but it is _my_ point," he continued with a firm tone. "You have accused me of all these wrongs that have happened and I have told you time and again that I had nothing to do with them. It's not my fault she fell ill. It's not my fault she died. I will not have you accusing me any longer, do you hear!?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" I countered. "You come into _my _house and start bossing me around? If I recall, I went and brought you here with my generosity."

"I _never_ asked for your help," he snapped. "I didn't want it. I didn't know what else to do because I was blinded by the pain of my body changing. You do not understand what's happened to me."

I stomped my foot, tears starting to flood my eyes from the anger that was swelling through me. My fingers dug into my hips as I held myself tightly. "I do understand! But you won't help me understand why it's happened! I just want to know what went on out there because I know _something_ happened between you too and that could be the reason why she got so sick. She was _my_ mother…don't you think I have a right to know you pompous ass?"

"You don't need to know why I lost my interest in the woman!"

He stopped suddenly and both of us stared at each other in astonishment. I couldn't believe what he said and obviously he didn't mean to let it out. He sighed in frustration and turned away from me; I merely sat down and held my head with both hands. I didn't like where this was all going. It sounded like he wasn't looking out for her because he lost interest…I had feared that would be the case. Mom even had said it in her journals, which I remember clearly, that he didn't understand that her going with him meant permanent company unless he disposed of her.

Would Cell have gone so far as to purposely put my mother in a hazardous condition where he knew she'd get sick and it'd give him a perfectly good reason to dump her off somewhere without feeling whatever guilt he might have learned to obtain over the years?

I took in a sharp breath and let the cold air flow back out slowly. The answer was right in front of me, but I no longer had the heart to pressure him like I had been. However, that didn't stop me from asking, "Did you ever love her?"

He stood with his arms crossed in front of him and his back towards me still. I could barely see the nod his head made after a moment had passed. "I did once, yes," he said softly.

His tone seemed sincere, yet hurtful in ways that he didn't want to go into. Yet when he turned around and looked at me I saw the pain on his face. "I suppose you could say Layrial was the stepping stone into a realm of emotions I had no experience with whatsoever." He paused long enough to let out a small sigh. "What did she tell you about me?"

I thought about it for a second and suddenly pictured her in that hospital bed, her gray eyes softly staring back at me and her mouth forming a small smile even with the drab news. "She just said that you guys were having problems getting along."

Cell nodded and turned away again. I got up and went to him, my hand resting on his shoulder. "Cell, I need to know…please?"

I could tell he was thinking it over. His expression was tense and it proved my theory. "Sasara, believe me when I say I'm not entirely sure what happened. Your mother though is…was a different woman than I remembered her when I had taken a standing in the world news. I was getting tired of her lecturing me and complaining. There was a time where she was obedient and didn't question me; somehow that changed and I was being treated like a mere child. I was wrong when I thought I could handle her." He chuckled briefly. "Imagine me saying such a thing that I couldn't handle a human woman. Yet she drove me to the point where I wanted her to be silent for good."

His words hurt me, but I knew there was something hiding deeper inside. I had a horrible urge to reach in and pull it out without his consent, but I also knew that I'd be making a big mistake if I did. "Why didn't you?" I asked timidly.

"I had no reason to hurt her," he said. "Besides, whenever I did in the past I found myself backing off and leaving her…or you be."

"Cell please tell me," I said. "Did you somehow have hand in how she died?"

"No," he said, but then looked at me with a hurtful expression. "At least not directly."

There was a tense moment of silence that made the discomfort between us even worse. My eyes chanced a guess that he wasn't avoiding my gaze and I looked at him while he took a seat. He sat there with a guilty expression, his eyes focused on the wooden table I had been picking apart moments ago. In the time I had spent with him, I had never seen him look more mortal…

"The moment I cracked I nearly destroyed the last planet we were on. I had left your mother alone in a forest-like environment for a short time while I allowed my temper to play through. I murdered nearly a million inhabitants of the planet. When I returned however, your mother was gone."

I shifted in my seat with more discomfort with the story he was telling me, but yet there was a strange fascination I had with the way his voice projected the words. He was calm, yet sincere; smooth, but noticeably nervous in the slightest form. It was almost like listening to a father telling his child a sad story that would be hard for that child to hear. I guess I was that child and he was trying to be gentle.

He took a moment to take in a deep breath and close his eyes to gather his thoughts. I waited, but my blood jumped through my veins when he looked back to me with a soft pink stare. "Sasara, do you remember the little wizard, Babidi?"

The name turned over in my head, my memory trying hard to pull open that hidden file of names and faces that matched them. Then it dawned on me when I took out that word 'wizard.'

"Yes…" I said with a slight bit of hesitation.

He nodded. "Well then you'll appreciate what happened to Layrial."


	8. Cell's Confession

**Chipper Hellos!: **Dear fans, you've been eager to see another installment! I was shocked when I went to my email inbox last night and saw reviews from nearly everyone already. I'm flattered; it made me really happy :) So, I owe you a larger thanks, thus I have finished up chapter 8 and will take away that horrible cliffhanger you all told me I was cruel for making ;) I know I'm evil like that ;)

I will give you all a fair warning that the next chapter might not be up soon…its possible it might not be touched for a while (week or so), but I'm going to try. I _finally_ got inspiration to work on another story I had started but neglect horribly and I have a lot for school before the Thanksgiving break. All of you take care! Enjoy this chapter :)

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**Chapter 8: **_Cell's Confession_

I was quiet and waited for Cell to continue. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, a mannerism I was used to by now, but it was almost hard for my brain to bring up the memory of his previous form standing tall and proud with this familiar gesture.

"Unbeknown to me and probably many others, Babidi had a brother who is rather alive and well," Cell said in a straightforward way that made me want to shiver. "He happened to be present on the planet I had chosen at the time and to his convenience he found Layrial and held her until I returned. He had received word in these past two years that his brother had suffered two defeats here on Earth, one from his own creation, one from me as you well know. Discovering me, of course, was nothing less than a perfect opportunity to seek revenge."

"He fought you?" I asked quickly, trying to imagine a person similar to that short, green creature with large protruding eyes that reminded me of a warped version of Yoda from Star Wars minus the bat-like ears.

Cell frowned. "No," he replied coldly. "If he had I would've easily won. He had no apparent henchmen surrounding him, though he claimed they were elsewhere. He had some sort of mental grip on Layrial so attacking him was the wrong move. I was forced to let him do as he wanted, or he'd mentally suffocate her, as he so put it."

I had never heard of mental suffocation, but the thought of it sounded painful. I wondered why Mom hadn't mentioned this to me; or why was it such a big deal for Cell to keep it to himself until now? "What happened?" I asked softly, almost afraid to hear any more.

"I daresay that this creature was more powerful than his brother," Cell said. "He easily dove into my mind and searched it for the right information that he figured would take me down." He stopped for a second and concentrated hard at looking at the table. "I hadn't realized until I left here a few hours ago that it was a perfect trap."

"Cell, just tell me," I urged.

"He put a spell on your mother," he said truthfully. "I hadn't known what the spell was until it happened. The only thing he told me was that I would suffer further if I ever stepped foot on the soil that his brother died upon."

I thought about it for a moment when he became silent again. I understood exactly what he meant that it was the perfect trap. "He made Mom sick," I said surprisingly without the faintest clue to a breakdown coming. "Diving into your mind, he was able to find your weakness, your connection to her and me. If she was sick he figured your reaction was to bring her back home, but by doing so you'd suffer the punishment he cursed you with because you'd be back on Earth."

"Yes," he said, "but at first I thought the suffering was the knowledge that Layrial was going to die. Instead he drew out the thing I hated most…and I became this."

I completely ignored his last statement. It was the first part of that sentence that I lingered on. "You knew she was going to die?"

His head nodded silently, and he had the audacity to give me a hard stare.

"You knew and didn't even tell me?"

"Well I'm assuming she didn't tell you either," he snapped quickly in defense.

"No she didn't!" I lectured harshly. "But why did you pick then of all times to keep something to yourself?! You always told it how it was…but this time you kept it away from me? You're such a selfish asshole! If you hadn't been so damn arrogant none of this would've happened! It's your fault she died! It's _your fault _you're a damn human! You deserve this!"

He stood up and pushed his chair back to the point it nearly fell over. He took several steps up to me where he was merely inches away. "This has happened to me because I was stupid to have spent the time saving you and your mother two years ago from Babidi. This has happened because I had to play around with finding out what Layrial was all about when we first met. Say one more word and I swear you'll live to regret it."

"You have nothing more than common physical strength now," I said with a smirk. "I'd actually like to meet this wizard so I can thank him for bringing you down a few notches."

He swung quickly, but somehow I was able to dodge the slap with a lot of luck. I picked up the bat in my hands and held it like he was about to throw me a fast ball. "I swear," I said between clenched teeth, "you come near me and I'll knock your head off."

"I dare you," he replied ruthlessly; his hands were curled into tight fists, his feet several spaces apart and his face looking down right mean.

My blood was boiling and half my subconscious told me to go after him and beat him into the ground. The morally correct side of my brain said not to, that one it wasn't the right path and two he was still stronger than me just because he was a man. After a few moments I had lost my nerve and my defenses went down. I let the bat fall to the kitchen floor and I ran past him and out the door.

There was an old tree in at the corner of the road that my parents had hung a tire swing from when I was little. The swing was no longer there, but the tree was. I ran over to it and stopped just as I was within an arms length away. Tears streamed down my eyes and I found myself falling to my knees without even knowing it. I had never felt so let down, so hurt. I felt like he betrayed me. He promised to take care of her and he hadn't. He said that he didn't feel anything for her anymore, but he still was responsible for letting that evil wizard kill her. She died slowly and painfully because of Cell's arrogance and temper.

I wanted to run away and pretend the past two days hadn't happened. I missed my mom so much it was painful to think about it, but now knowing the reason behind her premature death nearly killed me too. I sat huddled next to the trunk of the old tree and cried to myself. At first I took no notice to the person standing several yards away from me.

"Go away," I said once I had regained enough breath to form proper words.

"I'm not going to have you believing I'm the real cause of this," he said sternly.

I turned to him just enough to give him a really angry face, or least what felt like one. "How can you even think about convincing me? You are the reason," I said. "You can't change my mind."

He snorted and marched over to me, bending over far enough to grab my arm and haul me to my feet. My position on the ground was far too vulnerable to get away and I found myself being shoved up against the old tree.

"Now you listen to me," he said, his hands holding both of my arms tightly. "You blame this on me, but you're not considering that perhaps your dear sweet mother was the cause of my anger. You're jumping to conclusions."

"No, I'm not," I said stubbornly. "You said she was the cause of your temper tantrum; face it, you can't control yourself. If you didn't go off on a killing spree you would've been there when that wizard arrived."

"True enough," he said on calmer level, "yet maybe you need to understand the fuller meaning behind our collapsed relationship."

My face curled in disgust and I pulled away from him when I realized his grip had loosened. "I don't give a damn," I said with a huge attitude written clearly for him to see. "You make me sick."

I started to walk away, but I was stopped with his continuing comments. "I'm trying to be civilized here, Sasara," he called. "That's what you want, isn't it?"

I turned to him and looked at him with ice spitting from my eyes. "I want you to keep suffering. I hope you're always a good-for-nothing human." I continued to walk away but I heard him hit the tree behind me. And I'll repeat what I just said—I _heard _him _hit _the tree behind me.

After realizing this I stopped and turned almost in slow motion, a horrible image playing through my head. Cell stood still, but his fist was still clenched and covered in blood from the impact. However, that's not what I was focusing on. The fact that there was a very large hole in the tree and an obvious crack going up the trunk told me something else. Cell wasn't just a normal human. He still had something deep inside of him and somehow I was able to draw it out.

I guess seeing this act of outrage softened me a little. He was right—he had tried to be civil with me but I was throwing it all in his face. I mean, who could blame me? I just found out the gruesome details on how my mother died and I was supposed to just say, "Okay, now I know, thanks for telling me?" I don't think so.

I saw the blood starting to drip along his fist and down is arm. Standing around wasn't going to take care of it. Now I started feeling bad about everything; he was hurt because I frustrated him. The anger and hatred started to die away and I felt as if I now owed him something for the way I acted.

"Come inside and I'll help you fix that up," I told him and started for the house. The test was to see if he'd come along or stay out there and wallow in his own self-pity. Surprisingly, though, he followed not far behind me.

Cell sat at the kitchen table while I bandaged up his hand, after pulling out several large splinters from his knuckles. "You did a good job on yourself," I told him sarcastically as I tied gauze around his fingers, palm and wrist. "Why'd you do something so stupid?"

He snorted to himself and leaned back, his hand nearly dragging out of my hold. "Because you annoyed me, woman," he said.

"Don't call me woman," I said stiffly.

"At this point I'll call you what I want," he replied arrogantly. "You've lost my respect."

"Darn," I said and pretended to snap my fingers as I stood up. I washed my hands in the kitchen sink while he got up and went elsewhere. I found him moments later in the living room looking at photographs displayed on the bookcase.

I watched quietly from the doorway as he made his way across the room, his body leaning forward slightly to see each picture that was displayed on the shelves. There were actually several of me and Mom; I wondered what he thought when he saw Mom when she was younger, holding me as a baby. And then there were the recent pictures of Kei and me.

"Who's this?" He asked softly and turned to me. I should've expected him to be aware of me standing there, but I felt a small rush of blood hit my fingers when he took obvious notice.

I walked over to him and glanced at the picture, a small smirk coming to my mouth as I looked at the smiling face of my lover. "My boyfriend, Kei," I replied simply. Without turning towards him, my eyes looked up immediately after telling him for the reaction. He didn't make any faces that gave me insight as to how he felt about it. I decided to push him a little. "Where'd you think I got guy clothes from?"

"It's not something I thought about, nor cared to think about," he said and returned to the pictures of my mother and I. "How old were you in these?"

"The first one I'm two…the others I'm like five or six."

"You were a cute child," he said out of nowhere and left the bookcase behind him. I watched as he walked towards the window and glanced out at the night sky. "Sasara, you must know what happened to make me realize your mother wasn't suitable for me."

I sat down on the couch behind him and waited. I had been pestering him for his information all night and just now he's come to the conclusion I needed to know. This guy was so impossible it nearly drove me to insanity. "Alright, so tell me what I need to know," I said and crossed my legs.

He didn't turn, didn't shift his weight or untangle his arms from his chest. He stood still and quiet for a long time before taking a small breath and looking higher up into the sky. "Do you remember everything that happened between you and me regarding the trouble you gave me and the way you acted?"

I laughed lightly with his question. "Of course…you nearly tortured me in an odd sort of way."

He ignored my statement and lowered his head again; though I had a feeling he was looking more at the floor than the darkness outside. "It was you that tortured me."

Immediately my left eyebrow jumped up above the other and my mouth curled in confusion. "How the heck do you figure that?"

"It wasn't immediate of course," he said. "Honestly I thought you were an annoying brat when we first met. However, as time went on…and as you became more and more comfortable with me I realized that I…."

"That you what?" I urged.

He stopped and turned to me, his face seemingly scared of continuing because he was going to admit something he had never done so easily in his entire life.

"I admired you."


	9. Blind Sided

**Hmm: **Well dear readers, I've been contemplating on what I've been doing in this story. I was talking to one of my reviewers the other day and she confirmed what I feared…I kinda switched Sasara and Cell's personalities XD Oops. I do understand that Sasara has been a bitch lately (can I say that out of story-mode?) and Cell has gotten soft. Don't worry I think you'll feel a little better after this chapter. It is pretty long, but I needed to get this ending in this chapter instead of making a whole new chapter out of it.

Anyway, a warm thanks to those of you that have continued to review. I love them; they make me smile :) But I do definitely want feedback on this one 'cause it definitely…well, I'll let you read. Go go!

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**Chapter 9: **_Blind Sided_

I was a little distressed to hear him say what he did. "I admired you." I was having difficulty contemplating it. This android turned man basically told me he liked me. Hell, my mother never even got such a straight forward comment and here I am, sitting in my living room two years after my life had twisted around completely and this was thrown onto my lap. What was this world coming to?

"Ah, I see that look on your face," he said smugly. "Believe me, it took me a while to figure this out for myself, but I guess already having dealt with outside emotions once had made this a little easier to figure out. I will say, though, that your spunk was what fueled the fire inside of me."

"Fire?" I said with a bit of unease.

"Your mother never acted the way you did," he replied. "She was brave to a point, loyal above all else, however she wasn't like you. You stood up to me from the first moment we met. You had a better sense of survival than she had. And above all else you approached me with your own brand of manipulative methods."

"What are you talking—oh…" I suddenly remembered exactly what he meant. I had defeated him in a way he never expected and a way only someone as foolish and immoral as myself would've done. I had pushed him into an untouched exploration of a new variety in his mind. My mother had never done anything like what I had. The experience suddenly jumped back fresh into my mind and I knew that when it had been happening, his mouth on mine, I had enjoyed it.

"You…you were actually that deeply affected by that?" I asked him. I felt almost ashamed of myself and wondered if I was really that sluttish back then.

He smirked and closed his eyes as if remembering the details of our intimate encounter. "I didn't think so at the time. It wasn't until I had left Earth that I came to the understanding that you left your mark on me. You see your mother had outgrown her adventurous nature, if she even had one, and she was basically a bore. What I had had with her, what little there was, had gone completely by the wayside and I felt I was with a much different person."

"Yeah, she wasn't the same as she got older," I said. "Even after reading her journals I found it hard to believe she was the same person."

"Mm, yes," he agreed. "A morally straight, low key type of nature had taken over her and she spent more time questioning and trying to change me than anything else. Perhaps now you understand why I wanted little to do with her."

The problem was I did understand him. Cell had quickly fallen out of love with Mom, and I saw it exactly from his point of view now. I was more of a challenge for Cell than Mom was and this was something he wanted. He needed someone to give him a hard time, to stand up to him. It made me look tougher than anyone else just because I didn't sit there and cry because I was so scared.

"I'll be honest with you when I say I didn't expect you to say that," I told him quietly. "It's really weird to think about it. I mean…you should technically be in your fifties by human standards, but you're my age because of how long you were dead. On top of that you've…done stuff with my mother I'm sure and—"

His head snapped up immediately and I nearly jumped. "Excuse me, but what do you mean, stuff?"

I gaped at him. Was he serious? Did he really just ask me that? "I mean…well….I'm assuming you did stuff with her…like the little bit of stuff you and I did?" I felt like such an idiot.

Cell apparently found this rather amusing. He started laughing lightly to himself and glanced at the bookcase, perhaps to look at the picture of Mom sitting on the second shelf from the top. "No, that sort of _stuff_ wasn't present."

I was shocked. "At all?" I asked in total disbelief. "The two of you spent two years together and you never….did it?"

"We did nothing that you and I did," he said, "or anything close to it. I had no interest and that might be where she was annoyed with me. I had better things to do than to sit and fool around with her every moment of my day. She wasn't you."

The silence fell upon us with a cold drift and I wanted to shiver it away. I felt extremely awkward now, but yet almost relieved. I guess the whole thought for all these years was that my mother had gone off into space for what had been planned as the rest of her life (or technically it was I guess) with an android that I had…made out with, to put it in layman's terms. Of course I had wondered about things…wondered if it was even possible because of the physical comparison, but now that the truth was out I felt so much better it almost scared me as to why. That question just couldn't be answered. I just didn't know. But what was worse? Now I felt that I was the reason for my mother's unhappy last few years of her life. If I hadn't done what I did with Cell then maybe it would've been ok…

"I'm sorry," I said suddenly. I hadn't even realized my brain had considered saying such words, but my mouth came out with it.

Cell's warm pink eyes looked at me curiously, yet he didn't retain that amused expression on his face. "What on Earth for?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know; I guess for messing things up for you and my mom. I mean, I know that there was a time she meant a lot to you."

"A time, yes," he replied dryly. "That time had passed."

I stood up and went over to him, his gaze following me. Standing next to him I found myself still shorter, but it was more comfortable; he wasn't as large as he had been when he was the odd-looking android. "Cell," I started and looked at him as seriously as I could. "Thank you for bringing her back."

There was a brief pause and he closed his eyes with a small nod. "You're welcome," was the reply and he turned away from me. I stared at his back for several moments before turning away and heading to the kitchen to clean up the mess of ice I knew was probably a large puddle on the floor.

While I cleaned up the water with a towel I sat on the floor and stared at the tiles. Kei and I had replaced them last year because the old ones had been starting to lift up and chip. I could feel the drama piling up and my emotions kept doing back-flips. I didn't know what to do. I will admit straightforward that yes, I was attracted to Cell. I couldn't deny it any longer. I had been doing so since that moment I kissed him, but I've always known deep down there was something about him that struck me.

Now I felt like I was betraying Kei. I loved Kei. Really I did. Now, though, I feel as if things would be different. Cell would undoubtedly be here when he returned from his trip and then I'd have to come up with some sort of stupid explanation. Should I tell him the truth? Or should I continue to live a lie?

I was so confused. I guess I hadn't really sat around to think of the mess I was in until now, but as I sat upon the tiles in the center of the kitchen, a soaking wet towel in my lap, I started to see that I was alone in this world. I couldn't ask my mom for help now. She was dead. She hadn't been there for so long, but I thought I had gotten over that. But now that the one person I had been able to turn to was part of this mess I had to sort out, I didn't know what to do. I had no one.

Hot tears started to stream out of my eyes and dripped down my chin. I took in deep, jagged breaths and clutched the wet towel tightly with both hands. I wanted to get out of this—I wanted to run away. I felt responsible for all of the stuff that's happened to everyone, especially my mom. I had told her to go. If she hadn't she'd still be here with me. Cell would be gone from our lives for good and no more trouble would've come to us.

Cell obviously heard my cries. I saw him standing in the doorway from the corner of my eyes, but I didn't look up to him. I turned my head to hide my face from him because I knew that to him tears were a sign of weakness. I didn't care. I wanted him to just go away.

I didn't hear his footsteps approach me, but I felt his hand on my arm as if to pull me to my feet. I yanked my arm away and stood up immediately after that. I went over to the sink and dropped the towel in it before my hands clung to my face so I could sob into them, tears jumping out quickly. I was filled with so much turmoil I didn't know where to start. Part of me wanted Kei to come home because he always had a way of fixing things. Yet I could picture his face the second he laid eyes on Cell.

Cell…that android, the monster that had been harassing this planet since the beginning of his existence was the cause of all of this. He had destroyed lives…and he was about to destroy mine. Only this time I wasn't going to come close to dying; I was going to have to live with the results.

"Go away," I asked him; I could tell he was right behind me.

His hands rested on my shoulders and he turned me around quickly. I fought the urge to look at his face, but I couldn't help it. I looked up, his face stern and his eyes drilling into me. I couldn't bring myself to move away from him. In fact…I found myself moving towards him.

"Crying will do you no good," he said firmly. "Your mother made her choice."

I had no idea how he figured this is what I was upset about, but I think Cell was starting to get a grasp on the human mind more and more lately. He wasn't as cold and ruthless as I remember him as, but instead he was learning sincerity.

"You have no idea what I have against me right now," I said with a sob.

"Forget about it," he said.

I pushed away from him and walked to the other side of the room. "No, you just don't get it, do you? It's not just my mom; it's everything. You're causing problems that haven't even come up yet, even if you don't know it."

His eyes became wide and he seemed to jump to the defensive. "_I_ am causing problems? I think you're mistaken. I just told you exactly what you wanted to know, what you've been _begging_ me to tell you."

I couldn't answer him a first. I was so upset I could barely think clearly. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what my problem was, but I know I was mainly suffering from mourning. That and I was so tired I was starting to run myself into the ground. I knew that if I continued this any further it'd become another battle that would make me mad at him and he'd walk out. Therefore, instead of saying anything, I walked away.

I heard him saying something to the extent of "don't walk away from me!" but I ignored it. I didn't care if he was tearing the kitchen apart with anger. I went to my room and shut the door. I didn't bother turning the lights on; instead, I sat on the bed and soon found myself falling asleep.

**xXx**

I awoke sometime around two in the morning. I sat up and stared at the alarm clock, not really taking in the digital numbers. My ears listened carefully to detect nothing but utter silence. I felt like a truck had run over me, my eyes feeling puffy from crying and my head spinning; but after a few minutes I was starting to adjust and felt better.

Getting up and making my away across the room, I opened the door to see the lights in the house were still on. Of course…Cell probably didn't know what the hell a light switch was. I went down the hall to the kitchen for a glass of water; I noticed the towel was still sitting in the sink. I made a note to take care of that later. With a glass of water in my hand I looked around the various rooms to find Cell wasn't around. I frowned with mild disgust and shook my head at his childish behavior. He probably ran off again.

Or so I thought. As I made my way back down the hall, turning lights off as I went, I discovered the guest bedroom door was slightly ajar; as far as I remember it had been left open earlier.

Of course my curiosity got the better of me; I went down to investigate. I opened it slightly to see that the only light appearing in the room was that from the moon that shined through the side window. At the center of the floor sat Cell, his back to the door.

I was half tempted to just leave him be, but then I noticed his head moving slightly in the moonlight. "Are you over your little temper tantrum now?" He asked smoothly, no sign of anger filling his voice.

I opened the door completely and took a few steps in. "Sure," I said and proceeded to go over to the bed to sit down. I owed him an apology and I knew it. I just didn't want to say it. My life was fine until the other day; I had no worries in the world outside of my stressful job. When I gazed towards Cell I caught his eyes and we stared at each other for several moments. His expression almost said he was waiting for that apology.

"I'm sorry," I finally said softly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said I'm sorry for the way I've been acting."

"I believe you've already gone down this road," he replied stiffly.

"No, this time I mean it," I told him. "I guess everything in my life was going so well and then in seconds it all fell apart. I've never had to deal with stuff like this before, so I don't really know how to handle it. Everything you've said to me resulted in me jumping down your throat. I didn't mean to do it. I don't know what my problem is."

"Immaturity," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"You should talk," I replied almost bitterly. "You haven't really been yourself either."

"Hmm, perhaps not," he agreed and turned his head away from me. "However, I dare say the changes to my life were far more drastic."

I nodded and became silent for a few minutes to think about stuff. Then I had the urge to ask him; "Cell, is it really all that different being a human besides the physical aspect of it? I mean it's not like you've lost common sense and all that."

He stared at me as if to say I had lost my mind with that question. However, instead of retaliating with a rude comment, he merely turned away and stared at the floor. Before long, though, he spoke: "Sasara, you have no idea what sort of change this is. I have lost my power—completely." His voice was soft and calm…almost relaxing. I couldn't remember the last time he sat there and spoke so eloquently. "Sitting here in a human habitat is like you being in the woods without the luxuries you've grown with your whole life."

"I can understand that," I sympathized.

"Perhaps on that level," he said. I noticed his eyes closing again as if to take in his own deeper meaning of what he was saying. "There's something more to this change, though," he continued. "I can feel it internally beyond the fact that I've lost my power. I'm not thinking like I used to. The way I've spoken with you in the past day or so is not what I would do. In fact, you should know I didn't speak without good reason when I was my normal self. Now I'm discovering that I'm just opening my mouth. I'm not sure what this means. Even now I'm saying this to you when before I would never let my inner feelings out. The reality of my vulnerability is undeniable."

I felt horrible. He really was suffering in the ways that wizard said he was. When he first told me the story of what happened on the last planet he was on I thought that whole "you'll suffer more if you return to Earth" thing was based on the fact that he'd become human. Yet I think we both overlooked that statement…he's become human in _every_ way possible. Cell was no longer an android. He was vulnerable, just like he claimed. He was no more, no less than the average person walking down the street.

"Cell," I started, but paused for a long second. "I'm so sorry. I didn't consider what this was like for you."

He said nothing. Instead he stood up and clenched his fists tightly at his sides, despite the pain he must have felt from the injury of punching the tree. In the past I came to know this as preparation for aggression—but what was he going to jump at? Me? Some random piece of furniture?

"Well you know," I said when a thought occurred to me. "I don't think you're that average for a human." I received no response. "The tree you hit in my front yard? Look at the damage you did to it…I mean yeah, you hurt your hand and stuff when you wouldn't have before, but I can't think of anyone that could make the tree split like you did. You did a lot of damage for an ordinary human."

His lips curled in mild disgust. "What's your point?"

At that point I got up and went to him; I stood in front of him and looked up, trying hard to look serious and perceptive. "Maybe you haven't lost all of your power like you think. I mean, maybe you still have some of your abilities but just don't know it."

"Impossible," he said stubbornly and turned his head.

"Nothing's impossible," I said lightly.

From what I remember that was the start of everything. It was the turning point for so many different things—my relationship with Cell, his with me, the start of things that would come in the future. I will say that I remember it clearly, but how much of it I want to put down is something I can't quite put my finger on. It's obvious we became intimate. It was like we both pushed the world and the problems we faced aside and forgot exactly who we were—Cell especially. Yet in odd ways he regained some of the qualities I knew him for—boldness, strength, possessive qualities.

It was an amazing moment. It was like reliving that moment by that pond in the woods two years ago when I challenged him. Our mouths couldn't get enough of the other, our hands explored every inch of the other's body. Our bodies were tangled together and it was a continuous routine that lasted for what seemed like an eternity. I can't hide the fact that I had experience in this field, but I was nervous for some reason. Maybe it was because Cell was a fantasy type of man—he was that type that waltzed into your life, even if the way he did so in my life was partially unromantic.

The outside world seemed distant during our love making. I honestly can't remember another time where I felt so…beautiful. I wasn't going to ask what Cell's prior knowledge was of our act, but it didn't matter; or if it did I would've guessed he knew exactly what he was doing. He was simply wonderful, which is hard to imagine considering his usual mannerism and sarcastic nature.

When it was over I had never felt so complete and perfect


	10. Road Block

"**Good morning sunshine! The Earth says Hello!"** (Willy Wonka in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, 2005).—A big hello to my readers. I hope all of you felt a little better with my note I had left for a chapter ten to know that I didn't abandon this story…although I do apologize for making people think it was an actual update. _However!_ Here is a real update with 3 whole pages worth of new stuff. The story is getting rolling a bit more here after the drama slowed down from the point of Layrial's death. Please note though that I have no idea when I'll get the next chapter written. I decided to just take a break from school stuff tonight and work on some fanfic stuff. I'm not sure if I'll do any within a week or so, but I'll do my best to not wait months like I had been.

Feel free to ask questions…I hope this is a little unified…I did reread the entire story to refresh my memory on what I did so far—and gasp I made them do _that_ last time! Hehe. Hopefully though they're still not way out of character…I promise things will start to get more interesting action wise after this. But for now, enjoy :) Please review too!!

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**Chapter 10: **_Road Block_

I hadn't expected to sleep as late as I had. When I awoke it was nearly nine o'clock. I sat up quickly and looked around at the guest room, studying a room that had once belonged to my mother, but I hadn't spent much time in. The bed I was in was up against the wall; I had been sleeping on the edge to the point if I rolled over I would've been on the floor. The other occupant, however, was missing.

I should've expected this. I mean, I couldn't expect Cell to sleep until this time. For the time being I didn't even know how long ago he had left since I recall falling asleep soon after our activities had ended. I also recall something else…Cell had put his arms around me and held me close. It was a wonderful feeling because I felt like he had finally gotten over his "android" personality and started to calm down. However, it was a way Kei usually held me and it unnerved me to no end.

I got up and went towards the bathroom to hop in and out of the shower before I never got a chance. It was the quickest shower I'd taken in a long time. Once I was finished I hurried down the hall to my room and threw on some clean clothes. The cat was hiding in the corner, which led me to believe Cell was somewhere nearby since she apparently didn't like our visitor.

When I went into the kitchen, however, I discovered Cell was outside. I watched him through the window; he was apparently practicing something. His arms flung out, his legs swung around in kicks. I was amazed at how agile he looked even though he claimed that his abilities were gone.

Daring to interrupt him, I went outside to watch him from a shorter distance. He stopped the moment he saw me and stood still for a brief moment without saying a word. "You look like you've still got some skills," I said with a small smile.

"I feel different today," he replied and cracked his neck as he walked towards me. "I don't feel as weak."

"Well maybe it's because you got some," I said with a wink. When he stared at me blankly I explained that it was a saying women said about men the next morning—they usually were in a much better state than they had been prior.

Cell chuckled. "I doubt it," he said and walked past me.

I watched him and swung my arms, my head turning to look at the tree he had splintered the previous day. "So now what?"

He looked over his shoulder. "I don't know," he said. "You tell me."

"That's the thing," I said honestly as I approached him. "I don't know what to tell me, no less you."

"You care for the human—the one in the pictures—don't you?"

"Of course I do," I replied. "I've been sharing the last two years of my life with him." I waited for a moment before continuing. "What about you? What do you want?"

Cell merely shook his head without a verbal answer. I knew that Cell wanted to be his old self again; this was only second best in his book. The fact that he still had competition, though, might be an intriguing factor for him, now that I thought of it. I didn't want to see Kei get hurt, though. I couldn't let Cell turn it into a "I'm better for her than you are" match.

We eventually found our way back into the house and I prepared a larger-than-usual breakfast. Cell devoured everything I gave him; it was the first time I had seen him eat so quickly and so much. He sat back in his chair and stared at nothing in particular, his pink eyes sharp and alert.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

At first he said nothing. Then he looked at me with an unmarked expression. "Will you do what your mother did?"

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Do what?"

"Settle down with that man and bare his children?"

I almost laughed. "Why Cell, I'm starting to get a feeling you're a little jealous. You're afraid I'm going to just leave you on the streets."

"I never said anything of the sort."

"Yes you did!" I said hurriedly. "You're seriously thinking that he's going to come back and you'll be pushed aside."

"If that's not the case then, what do you plan on doing? He will return at some point I'm assuming. Do you expect me to still be here when he does?"

I opened my mouth to rebut, but his last sentence stopped me cold. I thought for a moment as to what he said. "You're thinking of leaving, aren't you?"

"I will be leaving," he said.

"Why!?" I started quickly. "After last night I thought…"

"Sasara," he started sternly, "what we did is to be forgotten. I was never meant to be in this situation or _settle down_ with a human. I have learned in the past that to have a woman as a lover is nothing more than a headache to me and my purpose. I cannot do anything for you that'll make you happy not to mention myself."

I took a deep breath and looked away. I wasn't about to cry…I was starting to become angry with him again. "I cheated on my boyfriend with you….I let you into my life when I promised myself I'd _never_ make my mother's mistake and this is what you do to me. I can't believe you. No, wait…yes I can. Cell I do believe you'll be just fine…the selfishness you possessed as an android is starting to return."

"How dare you speak to me—"

"Don't start," I said quickly and pointed a finger at him. "You want to know something? I love you. Heaven forbid it, but I love you. I've known it for a long time now, but I refused to ever say it or think it. I sometimes even wished that Kei was you. When you turned into a human and then last night happened I thought that for once I would get something I really wanted. You want to go out there and do whatever? Fine; but I promise you this, Cell, I will not let you back in a third time."

I was going to storm away, but he got up and grabbed my arm so tightly I didn't have a chance to pull away. He swung me around and pulled me to him, immediately pressing his mouth against mine.

"So tell me, Sasara," he said shortly after. "Do you speak the truth? Would you be able to turn away from me so easily?"

"You are a manipulative…" I paused when I heard a car. My heart stopped. I pulled away from him and looked out the window to see Kei's blue car. I almost died on the spot.

"By the look on your face I'm assuming he's returned already," Cell said smugly.

"Yes you idiot and a day early too," I said quickly. I was nearly in a panic. "I haven't even thought of a story to tell him yet!"

"Tell him the truth," Cell said.

"Are you kidding?!"

Kei appeared at the door and started to unlock it. I couldn't get myself to move. He opened the door and stepped in, a small smile on his face—obviously happy to be home—and shut it behind him. When he raised his head to look into the room, finding Cell and I standing there, his smile quickly disappeared and concern swept over his smooth face. His dark eyes stared at me for a moment and then traced their way to Cell, looking him up and down accusingly.

"Hey sweetheart," I said quickly and waltzed up to him to plant a kiss on his cheek. He accepted it wordlessly, but continued to stare at Cell. My eyes caught a rather stiff Cell staring back. "Umm, I know what you're thinking…"

"Do you?" Kei asked in his mid-toned voice. "I was just wondering who this man was."

"He's my cousin," I said quickly. "My cousin Seru from up north."

"I didn't know you had a cousin Seru," Kei responded as he put his duffle bag and briefcase on the kitchen table.

"Yeah, but I haven't seen him in a long time. A lot has happened though," I said to throw the topic off. "I got news about my mother."

"Oh?" Kei said surprised and brought his full attention to me. I explained to him about her being found near a crater; I told him that I saw her in the hospital and she died a day later. "Sasara…I'm so sorry…why didn't you call me?"

"Your phone wasn't on," I said solemnly. "That's when I called Seru…I had to talk to someone that knew she had gone missing. He decided to come down and keep me company since you were gone for a few days." What a lie that was…

"I see," Kei said but his gaze upon Cell wasn't one of trust as I had hoped. I wondered if he could tell I was lying to him about even the smallest thing. "Well then," Kei said and approached Cell. "Thanks for taking care of her during my absence." He extended his hand towards Cell, who looked at him with a cold stare.

Finally, though, Cell took Kei's hand and shook it. He released it quickly, though, and turned to me. "Sasara," he said, "this is where I leave."

I wanted to yell out with frustration…Kei just _had_ to come back at that given moment. "Are you coming back?" I asked with concern.

"I haven't decided," Cell replied and left the house. I watched him round the corner and then he was gone.


	11. The Twisted Games We Play

**Update!:** Hey everyone; I'm sure you're surprised to see chapter 11 up so soon after I said I had on idea when I would get around to writing it. Well, today turned out to be a lazy day with a huge lack of motivation to do anything productive. So, I decided to give you a gift since I had left you guys hanging for so long. A big thanks to **aquasage** for the awesome review that was sent via private messaging; it came to my attention that anyone who had posted to the "author's note" I put in a few weeks ago wasn't able to review chapter 10. Forgive me for that—I didn't know. This chapter isn't as action packed as I intended…chapters seem to be a bit short right now. We'll see if I can get some better "fluff" ideas later. I probably won't be touching this (for sure this time) for quite some time, although I will make a better effort than I had been.

Please review and give me feedback on how you like this story…I'm really trying not to lose my focus on it. I have ideas, but its hard to get back into the swing of things, you know?

Ciao everyone!

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**Chapter 11: **_The Twisted Game We Play_

When Cell had disappeared from my line of site, I promptly turned around to look at Kei before he thought something of my prolonged stare out the door. Kei stood there, his eyes planted on what had been the same scene I had been looking at. I smiled at him and picked up his stuff to bring into our bedroom. He followed, of course, to change out of his suit that he had worn for the job.

"So how long ago did all of this take place?" Kei asked as he tossed his tie across the back of the desk chair.

"Couple of days ago," I replied truthfully. "I heard the news about a meteor and a woman being found on my way home from work. I had one of those sneaky suspicions I get, so I rushed to the hospital."

"I really am sorry about what happened," he said. "But at least you know that she's at peace now."

"I guess so," I replied softly.

Kei nodded and proceeded to take off the rest of his work attire. I sat down on the bed and stared at the floor, wondering what was going to happen now. I wish I hadn't asked.

"I noticed your cousin was wearing my shirt," Kei said suddenly. "The one you gave me for my birthday last year."

I bit my lip while I thought of an answer.

"Or did he forget to bring luggage?" Kei asked as he buttoned up a clean shirt he put on. "I mean, I noticed he didn't leave with anything except himself."

"Well," I said and thought quickly. "He just came down and didn't bother to pack anything."

"Oh, I see," Kei answered and left the room.

I got up and went after him; I noticed he was walking a bit quicker, which usually meant he wasn't happy. He knew I was lying to him…he could see right through me. He went into the kitchen for a drink, but after taking a glass out of the cupboard he roughly placed it on the countertop and turned to me swiftly.

"So who is he Sasara?" He said sternly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked with a small chuckle.

"He's not your cousin," he said with a sure expression on his face. "He looks nothing like you."

"Kei, cousin's don't have to look like each other," I told him.

"There are resemblances," he said. "You've shown me pictures of your mother with her parents and brother; none of them look like him. And don't tell me he's adopted."

I frowned and put my hands on my hips. "Are you accusing me of an affair?"

"Should those be the words then?" he snapped. "Did you sleep with him?"

"What? No! Of course not!" I replied rather audibly. "Alright, look…he's a friend from a long time ago. I had to talk to someone and I didn't know who else to go to. He's the only one that knew stuff from the past and I knew he'd understand."

"You're still lying to me," Kei said and started to go down the hall.

"Kei!" I shouted and hurried after him. "I'm serious! I didn't do anything with him….Why would I? I love _you_."

"You sound like your mother," Kei said and then stopped quickly as if knowing I'd catch those words.

"Excuse me?" I said as if I just heard him say the most horrible thing in the world.

Kei let out a big sigh and tossed his hands in the air. "I know about your mother's life."

I stood there dumbfounded. I could almost feel a sickening pain hit my throat as if I was about to cry but refused to let it come. "That's impossible…"

"No its not," he said in defeat. "I read those three books. I know about her and that Cell."

I said nothing. I looked at him as if I had just been betrayed. I understood the fact that I betrayed him…but this is something that he didn't need to hide from me. I couldn't figure out why he'd go behind my back like that.

"I didn't believe the whole story about how your mother disappeared," he said. "I would've if it hadn't happened at the same time all the commotion of aliens and dead people came about. And I could tell that you were hiding something because it was always a touchy topic with you if I ever brought her up and asked what could've happened. I knew you knew more than you were letting on."

I continued to stare at him. I felt like the box I had been hiding in had just been ripped open and all of my precious contents had spilled out to be lost forever. Knowing that Kei knew I hadn't confessed to him about my mother's adventurous nature with Cell made me feel even worse than I had when he came home. I wondered if he had found my own story of a time with the android….

Kei cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked a bit upset with not me, but himself because he had slipped. "I had wondered if there was something lying around here that would've told me what happened to her…like a note she wrote you telling you she was leaving or something. Or maybe something you wrote about seeing her being abducted by someone. When I found those journals and started to read them, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I even did research about those Cell Games and saw your mother's name pop up as being kidnapped and held captive for several days with him."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I said, feeling very hurt.

"I…" he paused for a moment and released his crossed arms. "I didn't want you to feel like you were vulnerable with someone else knowing. I understand why you kept it to yourself…She left with him, didn't she?"

I suddenly felt cold. I turned away from him and went into the living room where I sat on the couch and faced the bookcase. I looked up and saw a picture of Mom and I from a few years back.

Kei had followed me and sat down beside where I sat. He put his arms around me and hugged me tightly. "I'm sorry, darling," he said softly. "But I swear to you, I haven't told a single soul about your mother and the android."

"I lied to you," I said out of nowhere, even surprising myself with my words. I had started, so I had to finish. He never mentioned finding my own account of Cell, but I felt like he should know now. Maybe it'd be less painful since he just blew his own cover on something.

"What?"

I took a deep breath and folded my hands on my lap. I looked at him and then back at the floor. "My mother left with Cell," I said. "I told her to go because I thought she'd be happier that way. They came back here because she got really sick."

"He brought her back?"

I nodded. "Whatever had been wrong with her destroyed her so quickly I couldn't bare it. I hate myself for convincing her leaving with him was the best thing to do. But I…I trusted him."

Kei sat back a little and looked at me as if waiting for me to continue.

I had too. "When that whole chaotic day started Mom and I had been separated. I ran into Cell and at first he thought I was her because we looked so much alike. It just turned out to play that he protected me from several of his fellow hell-mates. When he hadn't hurt me…and when I put two and two together from reading her journals myself, I figured it was the best choice for them both. I thought that maybe he'd be different with her around. I'm sorry I never told you."

With a smile coming to his face, a sad smile though, he pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. I embraced him with every ounce of strength I had. I felt horrible….I just didn't have the heart to tell him the details of my encounter…pluralized…with Cell.


	12. To Tell or Not to Tell

**On a roll:** Hello dearest readers. Yes, I'm back after disappearing for another month. Life, as you know, is busy, busy, busy! But I am (very thankfully) on spring break starting tomorrow and I plan on finishing this story. And since the midterm I have tonight is super easy, I thought I'd spend my morning writing a new chapter to get me started for the upcoming week and two days off. :) I'm much more satisfied with this chapter than the previous two, so I think you guys will enjoy it. I finally got my footing back on what I wanted to do. I don't think there will be many more chapters after this, but what remains is going to be good…I hope.

Don't forget to review! Thankies!!

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**Chapter 12: **_To Tell or Not to Tell?_

Kei had eventually gone into the kitchen to make himself something to eat and get that drink he had wanted earlier. I remained in the living room, trying to make sense of everything in my life. I asked myself over and over where I had gone wrong; why I felt the need to let my thoughts linger on Cell. Why couldn't I just stay happy with Kei and forget Cell ever existed? Why did Cell have to be created in the first place?

I wanted to tell Kei more than anything that yes I had had an affair with Cell. And it wasn't the first time either. In ways I wish he had looked in the back of our closet for my hidden journal, but he figured he found the only thing he would under the bookcase. It might've been easier for him to have read my own story. It might not have. He didn't realize the man here when he came home was Cell. Well why should he? Anyone with an education in local history knew about the infamous Cell Games. They knew what Cell had looked like. Minus his stunning eyes, Cell now had no noticeable features from his previous form.

So now that left me to what I had to do now. Should I tell him? Should I hope Cell doesn't return and I can just continue my life and pretend that it was all just a bad dream? Or maybe I should go out and look for Cell…

The last thought was what I decided upon almost immediately. I knew I couldn't live comfortably until I knew where he went. I would spend the rest of the day, week, whatever wondering if I'd see him standing there when I looked out the window.

Kei looked up from the table when he saw me enter the kitchen and slip my shoes on. "Where are you going?"

I shrugged and said, "I'm going to go for a walk. I just want to think and get some fresh air."

"I'll go with you—"

"No!" I said quickly. "You just got back and I know how tired those trips make you. I won't be gone long."

Kei looked at me with an unsure expression, but he said nothing further. He merely nodded and I took that as my escape gesture. I went outside and took a deep breath while I thought of which direction I should head in. I figured the woods to the east was probably the best bet since Cell wasn't one to walk out in the open to get somewhere—and the rest of the property was empty of anything to hide behind.

It took me about ten minutes to get to the woods since I was taking my dear sweet time. When I reached the trees I stood still and looked around to see if Cell had seen me coming and appeared out of nowhere. I tried to look through the first few rows of brush and trunks, but I saw nothing out of the ordinary. It shouldn't be too hard to spot him since he had on that bright yellow shirt; unless he took it off.

"Cell?" I called out. There was no answer. I was convinced though that he was around here. Something inside of me kept telling me he was there, but just didn't want to answer. "Cell, please come out. I really need to talk to you. I'm sorry for what happened before—I just want to see you once more before this is over for good."

Still there was nothing except the occasional bird chirp or rustle of leaves from the breeze above. Every moment I stood there and waited I thought was one second closer to him appearing. When it finally sunk into my head that he either wasn't here or was ignoring me I started to walk a little further. I continued to call out his name, but again and again I was given no results. When I turned around towards the path I came from I saw that I had actually ventured quite a ways from the house.

"Damn you, you stupid android," I cursed as I kicked a stick lying by my feet.

I stood there for a while, wondering if I should continue further along the edge of the trees or not. Then I had images of Cell sitting somewhere in the midst of them, watching and laughing at me for my pathetic efforts.

"Sasara!"

I turned to the familiar sound of my name being said to find Kei jogging up to me. At that moment I felt the adoration for him pounding in my chest and I knew right then and there that Cell had to get out of my life so I can spend it with Kei.

"Why did you come all the way out here?" He asked once he reached me.

It was then I decided he needed to know the truth. If I lost him because of it then it was my own fault and I deserved it completely. If I didn't, then I knew that he was the best thing in the world and I'd be stupid not to hold onto him tight.

"Kei, I need to tell you something that you deserve to know," I said. "I told you about what happened with my mother disappearing and how I had been confronted by Cell."

"Right," he said with a nod, but he didn't sound afraid of what I was going to say. He sounded and looked very sure of himself and me.

"I did do stuff with Cell," I stated bluntly. When I was stuck with him that day I kinda fell for him. I kissed him. I mean, back then it wasn't cheating because I didn't know you. And it was just a one-time deal."

"I figured that already," he said. "The way your mom described him it told me that he had a way about him that drew those who weren't afraid to him. It doesn't surprise me and I'm not mad at you for that."

"But you will be when I tell you the rest," I said.

Kei chuckled and grinned. "Sasara, unless you tell me you had his kid and you're hiding that, I can't be mad at you for anything."

I didn't acknowledge his statement. I had to continue while my mind was determined to get this out. "I had gone out looking for Cell after I saw my mother and she told me what happened. I found him near the crater that was reported on the news. He was in bad shape—weak and helpless. It turns out that they both had come in contact with some wizard that wanted revenge on Cell for killing his brother—the one that caused the havoc a few years ago. The wizard cursed my mother to sickness and cursed Cell as well. It turns out that if Cell returned to Earth, which the wizard was counting on because of my mother dying, he would turn into what he hated most—a human."

It was at that moment with those words that Kei's eyes narrowed and his face became darker. He solved the puzzle before I even finished. He now understood where I was going with this. He knew exactly who Seru was and now it made complete sense as to why he was wearing that yellow shirt.

But I didn't let that stop me; I continued. "I brought him home because I didn't know what else to do. I felt I had to do something because he had saved me once upon a time. The next morning he had completely transformed into a human. And I know you've put the pieces together. Seru is Cell. And yes, I did sleep with him. Yes, I thought I had a thing for him. And I will not lie to you anymore about it. I came out here looking for him because I wanted to get him out of my life for good. But before you burst out at me, I want you to know that you _are_ the man I love and I am so, so sorry for what I've done. I never meant to hurt you. I don't know why I felt the need to do this behind your back. I…I can't even ask for forgiveness because I know I don't deserve it."

I stopped when I felt my emotions starting to take over. Did I feel better now that I told him? No. I was so afraid that the air felt much colder than it had been. I wanted to run away and find someplace to hide where I could die. I couldn't bear to look at him now. I was afraid to.

We stood in silence for a long time. A very long time, actually. I didn't have the guts to look at him and he said absolutely nothing to me. But he didn't walk away either. I wanted him to tell me I was the biggest bitch in the world and that I deserved to be treated the way I was by Cell. I wanted him to say whatever was on his mind just to get it over with so I could break down…I knew it was coming.

"There would've been a time I thought you'd never do something like this," he said a tad bit hoarsely. "And yet, after learning what I have about this Cell, I'm not surprised. I don't think you're disloyal with other men…it's just this bastard of a creature that has interfered with your life two too many times."

My eyes, which were now swollen and filled with tears, looked at him with awe that he hadn't started to yell at me or leave me standing there with my own misery. I could see the hurt in his eyes, the pain in his face, but he stared at me with the devotion that apparently hadn't retreated from his heart.

Kei's jaw tightened and he looked towards the woods. "If I ever see that _thing_ again I'll beat him into the ground and show him that he's nothing."

"Kei," I said quickly while shaking my head. "He's still stronger than you think—he'd kill you!"

"No one uses my girl like he has," Kei said firmly.

"You must understand that he didn't force me," I said, almost on the verge of that break down.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "He's nothing but a womanizer. He didn't stay to fight for you, did he? No, he left because I came home. He used you. Yeah, you ignored our relationship and let him, but he did nothing except set you up."

I think Kei had more of a feeling that Cell planned for all of this to happen, which I know wasn't true, but I couldn't get beside the fact that he wasn't really angry at me. "Then you…you're not about to walk away from me?"

"I really am disappointed and annoyed with you, Sasara," he told me. "But I understand the circumstances. If I hadn't read those journals from how many years ago I wouldn't be as forgiving as I am now."

He started to walk back to the house and I quickly followed. He didn't look at me and I only glanced at him. He wasn't walking quickly, though, which meant he wasn't as ticked off as I thought he would've been. I was still scared, don't get me wrong, but I felt a ton better knowing that I still had a chance to keep him. I looked back for a split second towards the trees when I thought someone was watching. In the darkness of the shadows I almost thought I saw yellow, but I ignored it. Instead I reached out and took Kei's hand and held it as we walked. And to my relief, he tightened his hold and held mine back.


	13. The Real Monster from Hell

**Oooo:** Yes, a new chapter in less than a week. I thank those of you that reviewed :) Please continue!! lol

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**Chapter 13: **_The Real Monster from Hell_

It felt strange to walk into the house with Kei this time. He knew everything that I had always kept a secret from everyone. I know that the person you love and want to spend the rest of your life with _should_ know everything about you and there should never be any secrets, but it was just something I never wanted to let out. I felt better now that he knew because I felt like the demon that was protecting Cell inside of me was now gone. Yet I was still very unsure on how things would turn out after my confession.

Kei had gone to relax and probably think about stuff in the living room. I decided to go down the hall and clean up the guest room. I changed the sheets, tidied up the area and then threw in a load of laundry. I went to my own room and made that bed, but none of these tasks, unfortunately, took up a lot of time. I didn't feel like eating anything for lunch, so I didn't. And I was too nervous to go sit down with Kei.

Although I guess I'd have to do something eventually. I went into the closet and pulled out a bunch of boxes until I reached the small shoe box I knew was hidden in the corner. I blew off the dust and opened it to find the gray cover of my journal—the events I recorded from two years ago. I opened it up and looked through the pages, but didn't read anything. In the back there were newspaper clippings that I stared at. _Woman Kidnapped During Cell Games Disappears for Good_; _Several Cities Suffer Major Destruction from Hellish Encounters_; _Villains from Years Past Reappear_; _Victim of Terror Recalls Seeing Cell_; _Unknown Hero Puts a Stop to Terror_.

I closed the book and got to my feet. I knew he had the right to look at this. I went down to the living room and stood next to the chair Kei occupied. I looked at him lovingly, but timidly at the same time. After a moment he looked up at me and then noticed the book in my hands.

"Here," I said and held it out to him. He took it and looked at the gray cover. "I hid this from you too. It's my own journal about what happened that day two years ago. You have the right to read it."

Kei placed the book on the end table on the other side of the chair. He then took my arm and pulled me to sit on his lap. I felt like I was going to cry again—I hate being so emotional. "Sasara, I love you. I've known that since the day I met you. I don't want this to destroy our relationship."

"How can you not hate me after all of this?"

"I don't want our lives to turn into your parents' lives," he said. "I want us to be happy for eternity. Part of growing together is looking past the other's faults."

"Kei…I love you so much," I said with a sob and hugged him as tightly as I could. The comfort and safety I felt with his arms around me was more than I ever felt with Cell. Kei was right about everything he told me—and I was lucky to have him.

"What's that?" He said and I jumped back up, wondering what he was looking at. He looked out the window, squinting a little, and moving his head to see whatever it was.

I turned and looked over my shoulder, but I immediately got to my feet to get a better look. In the distance where the city sat was a monstrous dark purple cloud circling overhead. Obviously something like that wasn't normal. What was worse was the fact that it looked like the cloud was getting bigger and spreading towards here.

"Oh my God," I said.

Kei had gotten up too and we both stared at it. As if our noticing this was a cue, the phone rang. Kei moved to pick it up and within two seconds I knew it was our boss. "Yeah, we just saw it," he said into the receiver. "No, I don't think so. I just got back and there's been some personal issues happening, so I think we should—"

I turned and waited. I could tell by the look on Kei's face that our editor was lecturing him and telling him to get down there. When he hung up with merely saying, "Fine," I knew he'd be heading out.

"Kei, I have a bad feeling," I told him.

"I don't need to lose my job either," he said. "I'll drive into the city, take a look and come right back. I promise."

"I'm going with you," I said and went for my purse.

"No, Sasara, just stay here," he called after me.

I let out a fake laugh and walked quickly into the kitchen. "And sit here all day wondering if you're coming home? I don't think so. We're a team, remember? I'm going with you."

We drove out and the closer we got to the city, the more threatening that cloud looked. It was pretty windy too, as if a tornado was about to appear without warning. I looked at Kei as he drove, his sight set on the road and watching for anything to occur. I prayed that nothing bad would happen to him. _Please, just let us get home safely_.

When we got to the edge of the urban setting we were confronted with a ton of cars trying to get out on the other side of the road. Obviously we were the only ones trying to get in, so it wasn't too hard for us.

"Over there," I pointed. Not to far ahead there was lightning coming from the cloud and shooting straight down. I had read and been through enough terrorizing experiences to know how to tell where the action was.

We parked the car a few streets over from where we figured everything was going on. Besides, the fleeing people running and driving were too much at this point. We got out, people running everywhere, and I immediately felt like I was reliving the day Hell broke lose. I looked up and around at the buildings, but to my surprise I didn't see any strange characters hovering around.

Kei took my hand and held it very tightly. "Whatever you do, don't let go. I don't want to lose you in this crowd."

I nodded and we proceeded against the influx of bodies coming towards us. The closer we got to where I spotted the lightning, the colder it became. The flood of people started to die down and that told me that either most had left now, or the rest were lying dead just around the corner.

And around that corner we saw exactly what the problem was. We turned around the corner of a large office building to literally see a monster standing in the middle of the street. The creature was extremely large, possibly three stories tall and half that wide. His body almost looked like rock covered with mud, odd angles covering arms, legs and torso with black armor pulled tightly over him. What was more frightening, though, was his head. It was colored and shaped similar to the rest of his body, but his eyes were a sharp red with yellow slits for pupils. On top of his head were two horn-like objects that stuck straight out to the back like that of an antelope.

"Holy cow," Kei said and pulled me back around the building. "What the heck is that?"

I chanced another look around the corner and looked at the monster. He stood there laughing at the people running away. And apparently he had powers similar to the ones I saw Cell demonstrate once. He shot some sort of energy beam from his hand and it blew up a couple of people that had been frozen from fear. I gasped, but I actually didn't jump back to run.

"Sasara, we need to leave, now," Kei stressed. "I'm not taking any chances."

I was too captivated by the sheer size of this beast. It caught my curiosity, even if it was big, ugly and super dangerous…but I couldn't help it.

"You should listen to him and leave, Sasara," said someone behind us.

I knew the voice too. It had the unmistakable accent and rich tone. I turned around quickly, as did Kei, to see Cell standing there. He was straight as a pole, his arms crossed and his sharp eyes focused on the monster around the corner.

"YOU!" Kei shouted and took a step forward. "You stupid, ass—"

"Save your efforts, human," Cell said swiftly without even giving a quick blink to Kei. "You cannot lay a finger on me, regardless of my human state."

I wanted to bang my head—there was some absurd deadly creature not even half a mile away from us and they acted like a couple of toddlers fighting over a toy. "Shut up, both of you," I said. "Cell, how the heck did you get here so quickly?"

The smile he gave me and the look in his eyes was something from out of the past. It was that confidence he proudly held, the thought that he was better than those around him. "After leaving your home I discovered I still had my ability to fly. I hung around those woods you were scouting earlier, seeing what else I had thought I lost, when I heard you leaving in your vehicle. I had a feeling the two of you would be stupid enough to come here."

"How dare you," Kei said but I grabbed his arm and pulled him to me. "You think you can do something about that thing? Someone who killed as many people as you did? Someone who doesn't have a kind bone in his body and used my girl!?"

"KEI!" I yelled.

Cell turned his head with resentment clearly spilt across his face. "I did _not_ use her," he said roughly. "She came to me. And she's alive today for you to idolize because of me, you ignorant fool."

"Stop it both of you!" I yelled.

And they did. We all did and stood still when the ground shook.

"His power level is more than I expected from a low-life creature," Cell said with a smile, as if he was welcoming the task ahead. "Nothing I can't handle, of course."

I looked over too. The creature had heard us yelling. He was coming right towards us with large steps that broke the pavement with every move he took. But it wasn't him I suddenly became concerned with. It was the little creature standing on his shoulder. I knew I had never seen this particular person before, but the resemblance was uncanny.

"That little green man!" I said out loud. "He looks like that wizard. Cell, is he the one who cursed my mom?"

Cell apparently hadn't noticed him perched on the giants shoulder. He was so small, after all, compared to the size of what was no understandably his minion. "Yes," he growled through gritted teeth. I noticed Cell's hands curling into fists and his face getting a little red with anger. After all, Cell's human form was the result of this little twerp's power.

The monster stopped walking. He had stopped in a large clearing which served as a public rest area, complete with benches and a fountain on a bricked courtyard-like area. The little creature jumped down and landed at the feet of the monster. Both of them looked directly towards us.

"Oh Cell!" the little man yelled out. "I know you're over there! Why don't you come out and welcome us to your home planet?"

I don't know what came over me. Maybe it was the knowledge that this was the person who killed my mother. The anger brewed inside of me and I wanted nothing more than to kill this creature. And I was determined to try. I ignored the monster standing directly over the wizard. I ignored the fact that I would probably die doing this. I started to walk out, yelling as I did. "You are the little son-of-a-bitch that killed my mother!"

"Sasara, no!" Kei yelled and came out to grab me before I got too far. Cell had come out too and stood in front of both of us.

"Ah, there you are," the little wizard snickered. "Are you enjoying the little changes in your life?"

"You will regret what you've done to me," Cell said fearlessly.

"Oh, I doubt it," the creature returned. "In fact, I came here to see how you were doing. I brought my friend Teufel here to help me destroy you and this planet my brother and as I hear my father died on for good."

Cell chuckled to himself. "And like Babidi, you shall also perish. You will not win here."

"I don't see anyone else around to help you," he said. "And you've lost a great deal of your own power. But don't worry; I will make sure you have a very slow and painful death. And when you're gone, rest assured that your two friends there will be right behind you. If you want, I'll even kill them first so you know they'll be waiting for you on the other side."

The small speech this man delivered shocked me. I had never heard something so evil in my entire life. I don't even think that woman Jardinai had been this bad when she threatened my life. But there was one thing he said that was true; Cell had lost most of his power. He told me himself he knew it. He might have discovered he could still fly, but was any other discovery good enough to defeat a wizard and a monster from Hell?

"Cell," the little man called out triumphantly, "today is the day that planet Earth will finally be destroyed. And I want you to know that Bebidi was the one to do it."

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**Note: **"Teufel" is the German word for devil. That's why I chose it :) 


	14. Fight with Death

**Just one more…:** I decided to let you guys have this one too for tonight. The story is done—just one chapter left after this, but I can't possibly give you the _whole_ ending tonight ;) I like people to have a chance to speculate what's to come. It'll be up by the end of the weekend, for sure—if not earlier. Depends on how many reviews I get ;)

Enjoy.

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**Chapter 14: **_Fight with Death_

The three of us stood before these evil beings while they summed us up. Kei and I had no chance for survival if Cell was unable to do anything about this situation. Cell though, as confident as he was, didn't look like he'd be able to take on such a huge monster. But I had learned long ago never to underestimate him. He had fought hard even after he had been severely wounded in his last battle—the one on Earth, that is. Maybe I wasn't giving him enough credit. Just because he was different looking didn't mean he was different in every way. In fact, I knew he wasn't attitude wise, so it's possible he just changed appearance wise.

Cell turned to us, his face stern yet unafraid. "I suggest the two of you vamoose," he told us coolly.

"I suggest that too," Kei said and started to pull me away. I nodded and we went arm in arm to the building we had come from.

Kei would've kept going, but I pulled him to a stop. "I want to see this," I said.

"Sasara, if Cell loses then we won't have chance of escape unless we get out now," Kei warned.

"If Cell loses then we all die anyway," I replied truthfully. He seemed to realize this and stood right behind me, his hands on my shoulders as if to protect me from anything that headed our way.

Bebidi, the little wizard that seemed to be convinced he already won this battle, moved to a rooftop to watch the show below. Cell, as short as he was compared to this Teufel creature, stood there with his feet firmly planted on the bricked surface beneath him. He bent his knees slightly, his hands curled into tight fists. I was afraid for him…I honestly didn't think it was possible for him to win.

Teufel started to laugh. It was so loud that it almost hurt my ears. The rumble of the chuckle rolled over us, but it didn't make Cell falter at all. "I've heard about you, android," Teufel said in a deep, booming voice. His heavy red eyes looked directly down at the man before him. "I shall finish you quickly enough, but I will be sure to make it painful."

"Shut up and fight me," Cell snapped back at him.

"I shall merely squash you!" Teufel roared and lifted his left foot to stomp down on Cell.

Of course Cell got away since he was still able to fly. If he had to rely on rolling off he might have been hit since the area the large foot covered was more than time allowed to move away. Cell flew up and behind the monster, his arms out and body stiff. I had seen this position before—he was gathering his energy. Surprisingly enough a large ball of light formed before him and he held it with one hand over his head.

One quick toss was all it took to throw it at the monster. But it didn't make a dent. There was hardly any dust rising from the spot the ball hit. Teufel turned around, his back now to us, but I could clearly see Cell's face. He looked surprised. Actually…he looked terrified.

Cell flew around to the other side of Teufel. I couldn't tell what he had hoped to do next, but it was clear as day that whatever he _could_ do wouldn't be enough to stop him. Teufel sensed this too. He turned around, following the path Cell made.

What shocked everyone, though, is not any attack he made, but what his body did. Before our eyes he suddenly began to shrink at a high rate of speed. The rough body he portrayed earlier eased out into a tall, brawny man. His coloring remained the same, the horns on his head less drastic, and his eyes were still stunningly red, but he didn't look as fearsome as he had before.

Cell remained airborne, hovering still and looking down at the changed enemy. I tried as hard as I could to get a good look at the expression on Teufel's face, but all I could tell was that he was smiling—the bright beige, yet very sharp teeth told me so.

"Cell," he said in a husky voice. "You're weak and useless. It's not even necessary to remain in my transformed state. I can take you out right here with two fingers."

Cell came down to the ground and landed not to far from where his nemesis stood. I could tell that Cell was angry—not only at the bad guy, but with himself as well. "Two fingers," he replied, "If you were that good you'd do it in one."

"So you accept your fate," Teufel said mockingly.

"You deny yours," was the rebuttal.

"Then let us engage in a brawl," Teufel said confidently. "Let us see who the victor shall be."

Cell wasted no time. He jumped forward, his anger apparently getting the better of him. He swung hard and missed horribly. "Stand still!" He yelled out. He turned fast, leg swinging, but Teufel caught it and flipped him over. I could see from the way Cell fell and remained on the ground that he was in pain. It wouldn't have surprised me if his leg had broken with that simple defensive move.

With a lot of luck and determination Cell rolled over and got to his feet. He limped to the side, his hand instinctively going for his thigh. Teufel, though, wasn't about to play anymore games—at least not waiting to see if Cell had anything left. He dashed forward, elbow drawn to point at Cell and before the android new it it was in his chest. Cell went flying backward and landed on his backside with a large thud.

"Oh no…" I said with my hands flying up to my mouth and my heart pounding in my chest. "Cell…please get up."

"We've got to leave," Kei demanded. "Now, Sasara!"

"I can't leave him," I said. "I just can't!"

"You have to, babe," he said and tried to pull me, but I refused.

Without thinking of consequences, forgetting for a moment exactly where I was and what was happening, I raced out from the side to Cell's fallen figure. I dropped to my knees when I saw how badly scraped his arms were from sliding on the ground. Kei's shirt was ruined, not to mention the pair of jeans I had also given the android.

"Get out of here, you stupid girl," Cell said as he tried ever so hard to sit up.

"You're hurt," I said and tried to prop his head up.

Cell pushed me away and managed to force himself to sit up, regardless of the amount of pain he was in. He was about to say something, but his smooth magenta eyes looked up under his black hair to see Teufel appearing next to us.

"A little friend," the wicked man said with that freakish grin. He wasted no time in kicking Cell away—literally. I watched as my poor…friend…rolled off and finally settled on his stomach, face lying against the harsh surface of the ground.

I heard Kei yelling for me and I turned to get away immediately. When I looked up a strict gush of wind zoomed over me and blew Kei to the ground. "No!" I yelled and turned back to the monster behind me. His red and yellow eyes beamed down at me with a murderous stare that frightened me out of my skin. I got to my feet and tried to run for my Kei, but I was grabbed from behind and locked in a treacherous bind. Teufel had wrapped both arms around me, squeezing me tightly.

"Please don't do this," I begged. I didn't know what else to say or do. I could feel hot tears streaming down my face as I began losing my breath. I wondered what it was going to feel like as he started to tighten his hold on me. I watched as Kei rolled over and got to his knees. He hollered my name.

Cell too, saw what was happening. I caught his movement from the corner of my eyes and I turned my head to watch his face reappearing from the ground. Remarkably he pushed himself up yet again, but he could barely keep himself from shaking. "Your fight…is with me…" He said with a great deal of courage.

"Your point?" Teufel said as he turned me towards Cell. "Afraid she might die?"

"Let her go," Cell demanded as he stood up, putting all of his weight on one leg.

I heard and felt the man that held me laugh. "As you wish, my friend," he said. I felt his grip loosen and I was extremely surprised and relieved at the same time. I couldn't believe that I was able to be freed so easily.

I should have known he was far too evil to comply with Cell's request. I didn't really know what had happened at first. I was standing on my own feet and starting to move away. Then, without warning, something slammed against the center of my back. I couldn't breath. I couldn't think. The shock was far too great to realize that I had been hit so hard that not only did my spine snap, but I was lurched far enough from where I stood to land not to far from Kei.

I landed on the ground, unable to move. Every breath I took was filled with horrific pain. What scared me, though, was that I no longer could move any part of my body—not even my head. I could hear. I could see. I could think. But that was it. I was paralyzed. He had literally broken me.


	15. Promise Kept

**Goodbye: **I'll post my goodbye note here since the epilogue is too short to draw attention away from the end of this chapter. This is the last chapter, of course, followed by the foresaid epilogue, and right now as it stands it will be the last story of the series. I have some very small side ideas for a continuation, but its not enough to generate another chapter-story, not to mention the fact that I won't have time to sit and write anything fanfiction until June—at _least_.

I do want to thank all of you that have kept an eye out for this story as well as my other Cell fics, especially those of you that have reviewed each chapter. There's nothing more rewarding than a review for a chapter, at least for me. I hope that our paths cross again in the future. I'd like to do another Cell story, but would it be the same without the Layrial/Sasara character? XD

Anyway, that's pretty much all I have to say. This chapter is lengthy compared the last few, but I think it's a good one. And I really hope everyone will smile in the end :) I did.

Thanks again everyone!!

-Cassie

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**Chapter 15: **_Promise Kept_

"Sasara," Kei shouted and practically collapsed next to me. My eyes slowly moved to look at him, but I couldn't talk. I felt breathless. I had to take short intakes, but each one sent a ripple of a stinging sensation through my chest. I could tell Kei tried to turn and pick me up. My head fell to the side limply and I stared up at him. "My darling girl," he said. "Hang in there…I'll get you help."

I tried with every ounce of strength I might have left to speak to him. My tongue moved inside my mouth, my lips parted, but nothing came out. He moved me and I felt a gag turn in my throat. He stopped immediately and waited. "Let…let…."

"What are you saying?" Kei asked. "Sasara, don't talk—you'll only make it worse."

_No_, I thought. _I hear something…I want to see what's happening._

I tried again to make my mouth move, to gather the air in my lungs to let me speak. "Let…me….me…see," I finally stuttered. I couldn't believe the effort it took to say three simple words. I felt so weak. In fact, I could barely feel at all.

Kei understood and knew that this is what I had to do—I had to see what was happening. Perhaps my words to him earlier were recalled; if Cell lost, we were dead anyway.

He turned me around and held me in his lap. My head flopped over away from him and I saw exactly what was going on. We were practically in the center of it all. As odd and perhaps selfish as this may even seem I'm glad I didn't blank out so I could see what took place.

Cell had fallen to his knees again, one hand planted on the brick to hold himself up. When I had been hit I heard him shout my name. When Kei was picking me up, I thought I had heard it roll off Cell's tongue yet again. Now, I saw that he wasn't just upset with his own failure, but the fact that now I was severely hurt. For the first time he hadn't been able to fully protect me. And I was hurt to the point that there was nothing he'd ever be able to do for me.

Teufel thought this entire scene was hysterical. He laughed as loudly as his voice could project itself, his head flung back and mouth wide open.

"Shut up!" Cell yelled out. Teufel continued. "Stop laughing!"

Teufel's head came back to its upright position and he looked at the android who struggled to keep his semi-kneeling posture. "What shall you do now little android? The girl will die a slow and utterly painful death—just like you are about to. I hear that you and she had nearly died before against my master. Well now you will surely meet your doom."

He must have meant my mother. It's not surprising that an idiot such as he wouldn't get the story straight because Cell and I had never been in this position with _his_ master before. It angered me. But it angered Cell more.

And it was the breaking point for the android. The adrenaline in his body must have been flowing like Niagara Falls. Amazingly he got to his feet, which even shocked Teufel to silence. Cell's hands curled into fists and he gained his footing steadily on both feet—I couldn't imagine how he forced himself to do this.

And then I noticed something different, something that hadn't been there seconds ago. A strange purple glow illuminated Cell's body. His eyes had lost their color completely and they were chillingly white. He bared his teeth and started to growl to a point. I thought that somehow he had gained the ability to power up again.

But I was only half right. The glow became brighter—almost to the point where I couldn't see him distinctly. I knew that something was happening to him—he was growing. I wondered if he had the ability to become as large as Teufel was, but I quickly reminded myself that for Cell it was probably not even a previous ability.

I squinted my eyes to see if I could make out what was going on behind the sudden cloud of purple dust that had risen around Cell's body. It started to rise above the ground and I could hear him screaming out in pure rage. And in the midst of all this I wondered what Kei was thinking.

The dust started to clear, but the rage-filled cry did not stop. In the air I saw Cell's body stretched out. Sparks were flying from every direction; the wind was picking up and twirling heavily below; the sky grew darker than it had been. Teufel even took a step back. Eventually Cell bent over, his knees and elbows bending as well and his head bowing forward. He seemed to be getting larger—he must have had some sort of growth capability.

But his head was changing to an abnormal human shape. It almost looked like a cone. It was then I realized that miraculously Cell was reverting back to his android form. Soon the strong black wings grew out of his back, his head gained back the odd crest and the clothes that had belonged to Kei ripped to shreds and fluttered to the ground.

With a loud burst of light and air the purple light had vanished and Cell returned to the ground. He stood straight as a rail, but his head was still slightly bowed. His distinctive pink eyes stared daggers at Teufel, who suddenly seemed to be at a loss for smart-ass words.

I figured Cell would make quick work of Teufel, but instead he disappeared completely. The villain looked around, surprised and maybe even scared, but Cell was gone. It was Kei who pointed and said, "Up there!" that alerted us to Cell's whereabouts. He had gone to the rooftop where Bebidi stood. He had grabbed the little creature by the throat and brought him back to the rest of us.

"Let me go, you stupid android!" He shouted as his legs flailed around helplessly, his hands gripping Cell's hands so tight I could see faint drips of purple blood dribbling from beneath the little finger nails of the wizard. "You have no right to do this to me!"

Cell, though, was no longer in any mood to consider pleas. What nearly disgusted me though was how he killed the wizard. I had seen him end a life before, but this was more gruesome than I needed to witness. He held on hand flat out before Bebidi's torso and literally blew a gaping hole through it. The remaining carcass was tossed aside, as disgusting as that sounds.

Teufel had apparently tried to gain the stiff upper lip and readied himself for a battle with Cell. "You may have changed, but I can do a similar trick," he said boldly.

"I've seen your little body boost," Cell said. "And you will make the mistake all of my enemies in the past with that ability have made—you are far to slow to keep up with my superior powers."

Teufel wasn't about to continue a conversation. He immediately buffed himself back up and grew out his body to the extreme monstrous form we had originally met him in. Cell wasn't afraid this time. And neither was I. I allowed myself to close my eyes since I knew that now things would be ok for Cell and Kei. I heard Kei calling for me and telling me not to go to sleep…but I couldn't help it. Sleep was the only way the pain would go away…

**xXx**

I don't know how long I had drift off. And I knew I wasn't dead when I opened my eyes because for one, I still hurt like hell and secondly I had two familiar faces looming over me. I looked at Kei first to see the relief that I hadn't died fill his face. And then I glanced towards Cell who looked…concerned.

"He broke her back," Kei explained. "She can't move at all. She can barely talk because I think she hurts to breath."

Cell looked me over and saw my mangled form. I said nothing. I merely looked at him. "I know of a place she can get help," he said suddenly.

"Where?" Kei asked alarmed. "I'm not letting you take her somewhere I'm not familiar with."

"Do you want her to die then?" Cell snapped.

Kei didn't respond. He did back away and allowed Cell to pick me up, though. To my surprise I didn't feel as much as I thought I would. Actually, I think my body had gone numb. It only hurt to breath at certain moments. Cell holding me in both of his arms made me comfortable though, at least mentally. I felt safe now knowing that he was okay and things would be back to normal…somewhat.

I felt movement as he took off into the air. My eyes looked to the side and all I saw was a lot of blue and some passing white. He said something to me, but I couldn't hear him from the wind against my ears. I did feel my face getting extremely hot though and then suddenly it was alright. The air smelt funny, but when I realized just where we were, I knew that he had created some sort of binding bubble around us that would hold in the oxygen for he had flown us out into space.

This was a moment so many people, including myself, had dreamt of. I just wish I was able to enjoy it more than straining my eyes to look to the side. But wherever Cell was bringing me apparently had been discovered by him and my mother. The feeling of me going to a place my mom had gone to was not only exciting, but almost comforting. It was like I was able to see one last thing she did as if I was hearing about one of her experiences.

We were on the path in space for a while. But I could tell he was going as fast as he could by the sheer look of determination on his face. It was so strange to be looking back at the face of the android I had once known and thought had gone forever. I liked his human form—he was just as attractive and unique—but I liked the way he's supposed to be better. At first I was grossed out by his green bug-like appearance. But it didn't bother me anymore.

Finally we arrived on a planet that was literally blue from top to bottom, or at least as far as I could tell. His pace slowed slightly and the odd smell of the force-field he held around us disappeared. Before I knew it, though, he had stood upright and started walking.

"Sasara," he said. "This is a rejuvenating spring. You will feel better."

I couldn't make out exactly what he was doing, but I knew it wasn't anything I was certainly expecting. My skin, with what little sensation it had left, felt something warm drenching my body. I strained my eyes to look at his chest to see water all around him. I was completely under except my head. While I slowly felt the feeling returning to my body, I stared at him. I said nothing, but I let my eyes study his face for the longest time. His face was so calming in a strange way I'm not quite sure how to explain it. His eyes were soft, his face relaxed to a gentle look.

And soon he let me stand up. I was scared at first, but shocked that I was able to. Me feet reached the ground and I stood waist deep in the warm spring. Cell stood up for he had knelt down to allow me to be swallowed up by the water. Behind him was a luscious growth of flowers, bushes and trees. It looked like a paradise out of a fairy tale.

"It healed me…" I said to him as if I was a little kid. "Did you and Mom find this place?"

"Yes," he replied. "By chance, actually. She wanted to bathe and discovered it relieved the aches in her back from sleeping on the ground."

I reached up and touched the side of his face, but he took my hand and pulled it away. "Cell, thanks for bringing me here," I said graciously.

Instead of returning my thanks, he waded out of the water and waited for me to follow. I was soaked and my clothes stuck to my body in an unsuitable way, but I didn't really mind. I looked around a little bit more and knew that this would be the last moments for us alone. I wouldn't leave my Kei—I did love him more than anything. But there was a fondness of Cell I could no longer ignore. I now understood my mother to the fullest extent. And surprisingly, I was relaxed about it.

"Where will you go now?" I asked him.

"I haven't decided," he said. "But I will take you home."

And he did. I was able to view space from a perspective no astronaut had ever experienced before. Cell held me tightly and I had my arms around him, but the feelings I had for him now were so much different. I felt as everything finally come down and fit together nicely.

When we got back to Earth, we found Kei waiting on a park bench, looking bored and scared that I might not return. When I did I ran to him and jumped into his arms. He hugged me tightly and buried his face into my neck as he swung me around. I had never felt so relieved that something was over in my life.

Kei had put me down and looked at Cell with a small smile. "Thanks—for saving us and helping Sasara."

Cell said nothing to him. He looked at me and I knew that the sight of Kei and I standing before him pulled at his heart. I think Cell really did care for me. And I knew that I did exactly what Mom did—I chose the human over him. But the difference here was that Cell lived this time and he didn't win any girl.

"Perhaps one day we shall meet again, Sasara," he said.

I had to say goodbye. I pulled away from Kei and went over to Cell. I'm sure he didn't enjoy the public display of the hug I gave him, but I knew that he needed it. When I let go he turned and flew away.


	16. Epilogue

**_Epilogue_**

I decided to come back and write this after a few more years had passed. I found this journal stuffed in the bookshelf with my mother's and my eyes rested upon it one day. I had put them all in there so I wouldn't be hiding the memories anymore. And I thought that now it was worthwhile to finish the story completely. But be for sure, I will be putting them away after I do some sudden cleaning…

There are some things I need to write down and then admit. First of all, a few months after Kei and I had been through that horrible ordeal, we got married. It was a quaint ceremony and he didn't even mind us going to the cemetery before going home so I could place my bouquet on my mother's gravesite. We buried her two days after the wizard had come to Earth.

The happiest moment of my life, though, was the birth of my son, Satoru. He came sixth months after my wedding, almost exactly to the day. And he is my bundle of joy. But you may wonder why only sixth months. You may even wonder if he belongs to Kei.

The answer is no, he does not. I knew I was pregnant with Satoru before there was a chance of Kei being the father. My regretful secret is that Kei doesn't know that. And this secret I will always have to keep. I don't want my son to be tied up with Cell in any event. It may sound selfish, but after thinking out the consequences of any side I take, I have to do it that way.

As for Cell I know he's been around occasionally to check up on me. Not more than a week ago, actually, I had been coming home with groceries. Kei and Satoru greeted me at the door. While we brought the bags into the house, Satoru played in the yard. He had started to wonder off and I went after him while Kei finished bringing in the last bags. When I picked him up playfully, his little voice giggling loudly with a handful of grass in each fist, I noticed someone standing on the hill in the distance. Cell watched our every move for that instance. I held Satoru and looked at Cell…and even pointed to him for my son to see. I knew he didn't understand…I wondered if Cell did.

In ways I want Cell to know about his son. But I fear of Satoru growing up and fighting like his father. I don't want to have to fear for his life. I also don't know for sure if Cell would try to take him away or not. I doubt it, but it's better to just leave things as they are.

What's in store for the future? I don't know. I may try to hunt down Cell at some point, but right now I just want to enjoy my life with my husband and son. I visit my mother often. I quit my job and stay home now. Things are the way I want them to be.

And I've never been happier.

_Sasara Kyoto,_ May 19th , 33 years since the Cell Games


End file.
